Nine Months of Crazy
by GrayBlueSky
Summary: She was going to a wedding- to her ex-boyfriend's wedding. The bride considered her a love rival. The groom was caught staring at her ass, by the bride. And she was getting drunk, really drunk. Awkward much? Add the cute pink haired best man and the drunk mess and a morning of both regret and embarrassment and you get nine months of quite an unexpected roller coaster ride.
1. The Crazy Wedding

_Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima!_

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 **Nine Months of Crazy**

 **Chapter 1: The Crazy Wedding**

When she received the invitation by mail she'd thought it'd been a mistake, or a very sick joke. There was no way he'd actually invited her. But to her crazy luck, it hadn't been a mistake.

Shoving the invitation in her drawer (away from her father's prying eyes), she decided she wouldn't be attending.

That was until she called her friend Mira, who'd apparently broken up with her temperamental boyfriend for the second time in that month, and refused to go to the wedding alone.

So that's how Lucy found herself at her ex-boyfriend's wedding, wearing a dress too short and a little too inappropriate for the occasion (idea of Mira, of course).

"We'll definitely make every guy in the room want us!" That was what she'd yelled into the phone, sniffing and trying not to break into tears- again. Apparently, that was the only effective way to get over her long time boyfriend-by dressing provocatively and making him jealous as she got the attention of other men (cue the eye roll).

Why she too had to wear a short and very low cut dress was still a mystery to Lucy. Mira's only explanation had been, "You could find the man of your dreams tonight! So dress to impress and drop a few jaws! Oh, this one would be great for you!"

Again, cue the eye roll and a sigh of exasperation.

She almost forgot Mira was Magnolia's infamous matchmaker. The girl used an empty classroom back in high school to give relationship advice during lunch breaks, for God's sake!

Lucy almost groaned as she realized she'd actually been victim to her matchmaker ways back in their high school years as well. It was with the help of Mira that she'd met Gray after all. Gray Fullbuster had been her first boyfriend and now, she was going to his wedding. She actually laughed at the roller coaster ride that was her life.

And Lucy had tried to get out of it, really! But Mira was very persistent. She had literally showed up at her house four hours before the wedding, rushing past the door with ten different bags. And she had not let Lucy give any excuses. They were going and she wouldn't accept another answer from the blonde. So Lucy sighed dramatically and sat herself in a chair so Mira could help with her hair.

Her heart was thumping madly in her chest as Mira drove towards the wedding reception. Peeking out the window, Lucy's brown eyes widened in both shock and amazement.

Gray had really gone out of his way to make his fiancee- and soon to be wife- happy. The large trees outside the reception hall were decorated with lights, shining beautifully in the night evening. There was a huge fountain near the entrance, with a few people standing near it talking and waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy stepped out of the car, shutting the door as she looked around. Familiar faces from high school appeared before her and she quickly looked down. It would be like a high school reunion, one she was really, _really_ dreading. Because everyone knew who she was and who she had been to Gray.

She caught a few pairs of curious eyes on her as she and Mira stepped inside, and she grabbed her friend by the wrist and dragged her to the back row, waiting very impatiently for the ceremony to begin and for all of this to finally end.

Mira furrowed her eyebrows as she watched her blonde friend fidget in her seat, glancing back every two seconds.

"Are you alright, Lucy?" She asked and the blonde finally looked up at her, raising an eyebrow and scuffing as she shook her head.

"Of course not!" She pulled at the ends of her skirt to cover a little more skin before she muttered, "I'm at my ex-boyfriend's wedding and I feel like everyone is staring at me! I knew I shouldn't have come. I don't even understand why he invited me…"

Mira rolled her eyes. "You two broke up years ago!" She shook her head and sighed loudly. "Five years ago to be exact. He's moved on." She peeked at the blonde who was staring intently at her hands. "I thought you had as well…"

Lucy's hands clenched into fists and her nails were digging into the flesh of her palms as she whispered, "I did."

She really had. Gray was someone very special to her. She had known him since they were little, so of course she cared about him and always would. But she didn't love him, never did. Though, she had tried to convince herself that she did back in high school. Their parents were business associates after all and they had decided they'd definitely get married when they were kids. But… her mother had taught her love was something special, something real. And what she had with Gray felt more like an obligation to her father than love.

Gray was her friend and she loved him, but not more than a friend. And he had realized this. That's why he had broken up with her a week after their Senior prom.

Mira was analyzing the crowd and humming, bringing her friend out of her thoughts when she asked, "So what's the problem, then?" When the blonde only shrugged, Mira smiled softly and whispered, "He asked you to come because he considers you a friend, Lucy. He really cares about you, always has."

The blonde bit down on her lip, almost painfully. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Rubbing her shoulder, Mira smiled and answered, "It means that he wanted all those he cares about here with him. You should be happy for him. I mean, he has always been very supportive of your decisions. Even when you chose to date Loke after you two broke up. He bared with it and supported your decision, even if it killed him to see you with him."

"I know." Lucy frowned. She then rolled her eyes, clarifying, "But just to be clear, he was the one who broke up with me, so don't make it sound like he was the victim!"

Lucy crossed her arms over chest and huffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes as Mira giggled.

"Right, right." She said between giggles. She smiled brightly at her friend then. "He considers you one of his closest friends, Lucy. That's exactly why he decided to break up with you. Because he didn't want to lose you. I mean, he was leaving for college, after all. You both knew a long distance relationship wasn't going to work out."

"Yeah." The blonde smiled, flipping her long hair over her right shoulder. "We were better off as just friends."

Mira nodded, going back to looking around, mumbling that she hadn't seen any cute guys for her or for Lucy yet. The blonde slumped in her seat and sighed. Right, her friend was on a quest to forget all about her tall, exaggerated muscular, and blond ex-boyfriend. And apparently, she too needed a boyfriend. Lucy rolled her eyes. She did not. She was an independent woman who did not need a man!

She sighed again. She really wanted to be home, curled up in bed reading a Nicholas Spark's cheesy novel. Because her romantic life sucked and a stupid love story was just what she needed. Rolling her eyes, she looked down at her phone and bit her lip. Loke had texted her again. He wasn't coming to the wedding. Her fingers tightened around her phone.

She was glad he wasn't. The last thing she needed at this wedding was _another_ ex-boyfriend. It was awkward enough that the groom was one of the two guys she had ever dated, she did not need nor want the other one here as well.

Besides, she was not on the best of terms with Loke. He had cheated on her, after all. She had walked in on him and another girl two weeks ago. And the perfect bubble she'd been living in had just about shattered. Because she realized love sucked and guys were perverted idiots who only thought about sex. She of course knew that not all men were like that idiot womanizer, but still, those who weren't were very rare. Prince charming did not exist, that was for sure.

She frowned down at her phone and shoved it into her purse. Maybe she was smart, and maybe she was beautiful, and maybe she was a pretty good writer with a bright future ahead of her as an author, but she was definitely not Lucky Lucy. She was everything but lucky. And more so when it came to relationships and love.

Smiling as she stared at the room adorned in so many flowers, with people smiling and laughing all around her, she realized she was happy Gray had actually found someone he'd wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Her eyebrows suddenly furrowed in question and she turned to her white haired friend.

"Did Gray meet her in college?" Lucy suddenly asked and Mira raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, he did." She shrugged. "Elfman told me they were in the same class during their second semester. She was infatuated with him from the moment she laid eyes on him. I'm pretty sure I've heard a handful of people mention that she was kind of a stalker. But I don't tend to believe rumors such as those."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Right."

Her friend lived for rumors and gossip. She just tended to deny it. Because, she was, after all, a marriage counselor. And she, nor anyone else, "should spread unnecessary gossip about private matters between a couple." Lucy almost snorted when her friend told her this for the first time. The second time she did and the white haired devil asked "kindly" not to question her nor defy her words. Again, the blonde snorted.

Before either of them could say anything else, whispers and shushes from the people surrounding them made them both turn back to see what was going on.

And that's when Lucy finally saw him. He looked taller, a lot more mature, with his hair a little longer but those blue eyes of his were the same deep color she remembered. Gray was just as handsome as ever, maybe a little more than the last time she'd seen him, and that was almost three years ago.

His mother was walking him down the aisle, tears pooling at her eyes as she tried standing straight beside him, pretending to be fine. But everyone could tell she'd be crying throughout the entire ceremony.

Following them were the groomsmen, arm-in-arm with the bridesmaids. It seemed they had only picked out three couples. The girls were wearing a pretty blue dress, reaching down to the floor, cascading in layers and holding a simple bouquet of white roses. The guys were wearing a simple black suit, with a blue tie and an ivory rose boutonniere.

It was when the best man and the maid of honor made their entrance that Lucy's breath caught. The pink haired best man (really, pink hair? Was it even natural?) was flashing a toothy smile to the crowd of friends and family members that had joined his two friends in their special day. His bright smile was still beaming once he joined Gray's side, whispering something to the groom that made him roll his eyes. Lucy smiled down at her lap. That smile of his was really contagious.

It was then, just seconds after the best man and maid of honor had taken their positions, that the bride was walking down the aisle. She was being escorted by a tall man with dark blue hair, which Lucy guessed was her father.

The blue haired girl, that Lucy had seen from the invitation that her name was Juvia, looked beautiful. But then again, what bride didn't (at least Lucy hadn't known of any that did not look beautiful on their very special day). Her white dress was very elegant. It had long lace sleeves, with the long folds of her dress sparkling with every step she took, her dark blue eyes never leaving Gray's. Lucy smiled at the scene. She really was happy for him.

The ceremony began well. Everything was going great. Until, "Gray Fullbuster do you take Juvia Lockser to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Gray stared at Juvia for a few seconds, his eyes wide as they stared into Juvia's confused ones. "I…" He started saying. Glancing towards the crowd of confused guests, Gray scanned it for something- for _someone_. Lucy's eyes widened with fright and she quickly looked down, her bangs covering her eyes. "I…" Lucy heard Gray repeat, hesitating before he finally whispered, "I do."

Lucy let out a breath she had been apparently holding, relief flooding over her.

"I now pronounce you as husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

The crowd broke into cheers of joy when Gray leaned down and kissed the blushing bride, who just about fainted from excitement and happiness.

Lucy soon found herself in the reception hall. Mira had dragged her towards their assigned table, swooning about the wedding ceremony and how beautiful Juvia looked.

Before they got to their table, however, they were stopped when someone called to them, "Hey you two! Where you at the ceremony? I couldn't find you!"

Yukino Aguria was smiling brightly at her two long time friends, Sting Eucliffe- her boyfriend- was standing beside her, waving at the two girls as his girlfriend continued, "I can't believe Gray's a married man! The first from our high school generation to tie the knot! We're getting old." She frowned, her hands coming up to cover her non-existent wrinkles.

Lucy rolled her eyes and Mira giggled. "Oh, we're not old at all!" She smiled brightly. "Twenty- three is _very_ young." She then winked at one of the groomsmen and Lucy sighed loudly.

Really, her friend wasn't usually like this. She only acted out when Laxus decided to be an idiot and break up with her. She was definitely going to kick his ass this time. Because she was dragged to this wedding because of him!

Yukino giggled and shrugged. "We'll definitely be old in a few years, though. Once we turn thirty I mean."

A dark aura suddenly appeared around Mira and both Lucy and Sting sweat dropped. "Oh no, that's still a long time from happening! Let's enjoy our youth while it lasts."

They all sat down at their table, introducing themselves to a couple that had already been sitting down. Lucy raised an eyebrow when the petite girl introduced herself as a close friend of Gray's from college and her boyfriend- which Lucy decided the two made quite a peculiar pair- groaned out his name. Levy- the petite blue haired girl- apologized for her scary looking boyfriend, telling them that he's friends with Juvia. They'd all gone to college together.

Before Lucy even realized it, the reception hall was filled with people she knew and didn't know. A new pair had joined their table, they'd introduced themselves as Erza Scarlet and Jellal Fernandes- also friends of Gray and Juvia from college. Mira had actually known the scarlet haired girl- the two had been friends (or rivals, whatever fits best) when they were in their elementary years.

"Gray told us so much about you, Lucy." Erza was telling her, a polite smile taking form on her lips as she continued, "He always gushed to us about his perfect best friend and how smart and beautiful she was. It's a pleasure to finally get to know the famous Lucy Heartfilia."

Gajeel- the long haired, face full of piercings guy- snorted and mumbled, "Yeah, more like he was obsessed with her. I mean, I get that he was kind of in love with her after dating her for two years, but really, it was annoying. No big surprise why he ended up marrying Juvi- Hey! What the hell woman?!"

He hissed when Levy rammed her elbow into his ribs, telling him that he was running his mouth and being innapropriate without a word, her eyes slanting as they stared into his.

Gajeel grumbled a few more incoherent words and crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair as Levy gave Lucy an apologetic smile.

Lucy frowned as she thought over Gajeel's words. Gray was in love with her? Her heart dropped.

"So," Jella began, clearing his throat as he tried to break the awkward silence that had settled in their table, "I hear you published your first novel just a few months ago, Lucy. The books are flying off the shelves! I should get a copy of my own before they sell out." Lucy smiled at him, appreciating his kind words and his attempt to get her mind off of Gajeel's words.

"Yes, I'm very happy with its success." Her cheeks dusted pink as she whispered, "It's better than I could have ever imagined."

The table soon broke out into different conversations, Jellal telling Lucy about his job- he was an FBI special agent. He knew Erza since childhood but they had separated and hadn't reconnected until college and they'd been dating ever since.

Erza was also an FBI agent, and she boasted about her job for a good half hour, taking exaggerated pride in her skills to frighten even the most wanted criminals. Lucy exchanged a look with Mira, sweat dropping when her friend giggled and shrugged.

"She isn't known as the Titania for her pretty face." She whispered and Lucy noted to never get on Erza's bad side.

"How are you and Laxus doing?" Erza was asking Mira, and Lucy broke away from her conversation with Yukino and Sting to turn to see her white haired friend shrug casually.

"We broke up." She twirled a strand of her hair, acting as indifferent as she could. Lucy rolled her eyes.

Erza furrowed her eyebrows, her gaze turning deadly as she uttered, "Again?"

Mira shrugged again. "It's not like I really care. I'm better off without him." Lucy snorted, which got Erza's attention- she was raising a eyebrow in question- but Mira completely ignored her. "Tonight, I'm just going to have fun. Maybe I'll find someone way better than Laxus."

She winked at the long, green haired guy that was sitting beside her and continued by saying, "It's a very well known fact that high school sweethearts don't last forever. We -unfortunately- had the odds stacked against us." She waved her hand dramatically towards Lucy. "That's why Lucy and I came together. It's our girl's night out as single and very attractive women, going out to catch one of the many fish in the sea." She winked again at the green haired guy- whose eyebrows were furrowed in both confusion and shock at Mira's apparent fondness of him- and Lucy just wanted to slam her head on the table. She internally groaned.

Chuckling lowly, the green haired guy took a small sip from his drink, politely smiling at Mira when he realized she was still staring at him.

She grinned brightly at him and his eyebrows furrowed when she asked, "Are you single?" He had arrived alone- he later told them his friend had gone off to meet with some other friends- but he had said it was a "he" so Mira took that as a sign that he came alone, like she had.

Mira was now twirling a strand of her silver hair in a flirtatious way, awaiting the long haired guy's response, who she kind of remembered saying his name was Freed, but she rather not risk it.

Lucy actually groaned then. The entire table was staring at Mira, waiting to see where this went. Mira really didn't know how to be subtle.

Sighing, Freed- or whatever his name was- answered, "I'm gay."

Everyone's eyes widened, but not Mira's. She was still smiling at him, her finger only stalling on it's twirling on her hair before she said, "Very straightforward, aren't you?" He shrugged and her smile widened- and Lucy for a moment debated whether or not she had finally lost her- a flirtatious glint in her eyes confirmed Lucy that she had. "That's just how I like my man."

Rubbing the back of his neck, the long haired guy let out a soft sigh before he told her, "I'm serious."

Mira stared at him for a few more seconds, her eyes losing the glint from before and her lips falling into a frown as she muttered, "Well, that's a real shame. Here I thought I'd finally found the man of my dreams."

And Lucy finally slammed her face on the table, the poor guy excusing himself a few minutes after, saying he'd go for a drink and be back- but he never did and Lucy didn't judge him.

Sighing, Lucy stood up, deciding that she too needed a drink. There was no way she was getting through this wedding without at least one- or maybe even more than one drink.

And just to her luck, as she was walking back to her table with her drink in hand, she crossed paths with Gray and his now wife- Juvia.

"Hey!" Gray greeted, a huge grin taking form on his lips as he slipped his hand away from his wife's and walked up to the blonde, bringing her into a tight and warm hug.

Lucy blinked a few times, smiling softly as she returned the hug. "Hi," she whispered back and his arms tightened a little bit more around her, crushing her to his chest.

"I really wanted to see you. It's been a while." He whispered into her hair and she shivered at his words. It had been a _very_ long time.

Glancing back at Juvia, Lucy shivered from the dark aura that was emanating off of her. She was glaring daggers at her and Lucy pushed back, breaking her embrace from Gray. Of course she knew who she was, and Lucy could understand the bride's actions. Gray furrowed his eyebrows at Lucy and then glanced towards Juvia and sighed. He mouthed a 'sorry' but she shook her head and waved a hand in dismissal. She understood that it was just as awkward for Juvia as it was for her. Probably a whole lot more for Juvia.

"Congratulations." She told Gray, smiling brightly up at him. He had really gotten taller. She was wearing heels and yet he was still a head taller than her.

Turning to the bride, Lucy said, "It's really nice to meet you, Juvia." She smiled, her eyes going to Gray's for a second before they returned to Juvia. "Please take care of him."

Juvia stepped up to Gray, holding his hand tightly, acting very territorial when she stated firmly, "Juvia will definitely take great care of Gray." Gray cleared his throat and Juvia smiled politely as she continued saying, "Juvia thanks Love Rival for accompanying us today."

Lucy blinked her eyes at Juvia, making sure that she had actually heard her correctly, "Love rival?" She questioned and Gray rolled his eyes when Juvia nodded.

"Yes. Lucy was Gray-sama's first girlfriend, so Lucy is Juvia's Love Rival." She eyed Lucy up and down before she stated, "And Juvia hopes Love Rival will not try to steal Gray-sama from Juvia."

"Juvia…" Gray sighed. "Please, Lucy is just a friend. A very special friend to me. She's not your love rival."

Juvia raised an eyebrow, not seeming very convinced by her husband's words, and then glanced in Lucy's direction, the blonde smiling awkwardly at her.

"Uh… I'll just let you two be..." She watched Gray frown and Juvia grin, wrapping her arm possessively around Gray's. Lucy sweat dropped. "I- I… Mira's waiting for me. I really hope the best to the both of you." She caught Gray's deep blue eyes and he smiled at her, making her insides melt. She cared so much about him and it killed her that she hadn't been able to make him happy. But he now had Juvia, and she was happy, really happy for them. "Congratulations again. Please cherish what you have with Juvia."

Gray smiled down at Juvia and she smiled back when he wrapped an arm around her and answered, "I will."

Nodding and smiling, Lucy turned around and walked off towards her table, her head spinning and she sighed with relief to finally be out of that awkward situation. But her relief didn't last long, no, it all washed away in an instant and her face paled when she heard someone speak into the microphone, "And now, for a few words from the Groom!" And then, Lucy's heart thumped madly in her chest when Juvia yelled- right into the microphone- "Gray-sama! Don't stare at Love Rival's bottom! Stare at Juvia's instead!"

Lucy's eyes widened in both embarrassment and indignation, her cheeks turning a dark red color when she turned around to see Gray stuttering his refusal of having stared at the blonde's ass.

She could hear Gajeel's loud laughs from the other side of the venue, Erza yelling at him to shut up or she'll give him a beating that was going to make him regret ever going against her demands again.

And Gajeel did stop laughing, but didn't stop himself from saying, "Oh come on, Titania! It's hilarious! This wedding is finally getting good!"

And Lucy wanted to crawl under the nearest table. Why her? Why the hell had she come?! She knew this was a bad idea. She didn't hate getting attention- like who was she kidding, she loved the attention. That's why she owned clothes more revealing than most girls did- but right at that moment, the attention had been suffocating her. It just felt like she'd committed one of the worst sins by the stares she was getting, and yet, she had literally done nothing! He was the damn pervert, not her!

"I was not staring at her ass, I swear!" Gray was yelling, still very near the microphone and echoing throughout the entire venue. Lucy groaned. Where was Harry Potter's damn invisible cloak when a girl really needed it?! "I love you Juvia! God damn it, I was not checking her out, Ultear! You do not need to beat me up, alright?!"

Lucy walked as casually as she could towards the bar counter, ignoring the stares and glares she was getting from Juvia's friends and family members. "I'm going to need two more of these." Lucy told the guy behind the counter, motioning to her almost empty glass of vodka.

The guy chuckled and nodded, going off to make her the two- very much needed- drinks.

"Well, you must have quite the ass if Gray was checking you out in front of his wife." A guy suddenly appeared beside her, and Lucy's eyes widened when she looked up and realized it was Gray's pink haired best man. He was flashing her a toothy grin, trying to sneak a peek at her ass and she glared at him.

"Hey! Stop trying to check me out!" She yelled, crossing her arms over her chest in a irritated way.

He let out a bark of laughter, shaking his head as he turned back towards the bar and ordered a drink for himself. Glancing back down at her, he asked, "With a dress like that you still don't want guys checking you out?" He then shrugged. "I mean, I get why Gray stared. It's a pretty nice ass." She rammed her elbow into his ribcage making him yell out, "Hey! What are you getting mad? I'm not lying. You should take it as a compliment!" He was laughing at her and she glared at him.

"You're an idiot." She muttered and his grin widened.

"And you're pretty weird." He shot back.

"What?!" She yelled in indignation. "I am not weird!"

He shrugged. "I think you are. Who wears a dress like that to a wedding?"

Lucy felt a vein pop on her forehead, her hands curling up into fists as she exclaimed, "'Lots of girls do!"

The pink haired guy nodded, "Yeah, weird ones like you."

Just then- before the blonde could give the idiot an earful- the guy behind the counter said, "Here you go, miss."

They both turned towards the guy and Lucy huffed and took her drinks, sticking her tongue out at the idiot as she walked passed him and towards her table. Yeah, she was acting very childish, she knew. But that guy was ticking her off. And this day had been bad enough already, she did not need him making it worse.

"My name's Natsu by the way!" He yelled, his grin widening when she turned around and glared at him saying, "I like Idiot better."

He chuckled. "What's your name?" He asked and Lucy debated whether or not to tell him. She decided she wouldn't but then he continued, "Or should I just continue calling you weirdo?"

"Oh hell no!" She yelled, her face heating up in annoyance. Yeah, she wasn't good at containing her emotions. "It's Lucy. Lu-cy. Memorize that, you idiot! And do not call me weirdo again!"

Smiling widely at her, he nodded. "Alright, Lucy."

And with that she stomped over to her table, not even giving him a second glance.

Lucy sat down next to Mira, ignoring the stares she was getting from the others at their table. She chugged down her drinks just seconds after she had sat down, and stole Mira's- who was smiling tentatively at her, apparently she was speechless, that was a first.

Stealing another drink from Gajeel ("Hey! That's my drink, bunny girl!") the blonde turned to the now smirking Mirajane Strauss.

"Told you the dress would drop a few jaws!" She exclaimed in excitement, clapping her hands and jumping in her seat as if she had just been awarded a fucking grammy. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, when aren't you wrong?" She muttered, her words laced with sarcasm.

Mira giggled, ignoring her words as she continued, "But getting the groom to stare at you wasn't the point. How 'bout one of the groomsmen, or one of the waiters, there's this really cute one that-"

And Lucy cut her out. She really didn't want to think about anything, and less about guys- more precisely, guys that just got married and were checking her out in front of their wives.

"Oh! I got it! I think you and Natsu should date!" Mira was saying and Lucy's eyes widened.

"What?! No way!" She shook her head violently, raising her arms up over her head to form an 'X.'

"But you would make such a cute couple!" Mira continued on, gushing about the pink haired boy and how she knew him since they were kids. Apparently, his last name was Dragneel and he had just moved back to Magnolia after having left over ten years ago. She didn't specify why he had left. But she had told her that he met up with Gray again in college, and now, he was back in Magnolia, he had barely moved back a week ago.

Lucy looked around the room, trying to block out Mira's voice. Her gaze then fell on the bar counter by the back of the venue, and she saw the familiar- and very unique- pink hair that belonged to Natsu. He was drinking a beer, watching Gray and Juvia dance for the first time as husband and wife. Lucy followed his gaze, staring at Gray as he smiled down at his wife, whispering something in her ear that made her cheeks flush a dark red.

She sighed, glad that they seemed to have worked out whatever had happened between them- and her- before.

Looking back at Natsu, Lucy realized that he was pretty handsome, she really couldn't deny that part. Or maybe she was just thinking that because she was kind of drunk. Yeah, it was probably that.

She found herself staring at him for the next ten minutes, chugging down the next round of drinks she had ordered. From what Mira had told her, he was their age. He was a firefighter and he had never had a long term relationship. Mira had frowned at this, but she didn't give Lucy much details as to why that was.

In her drunken haze, he was extraordinary attractive with his gentle face and big, dark green eyes, and prominent muscle under his suit and his pink hair- surprisingly- suited him very well.

She could have stared at him all night, nearly drooling as she did, if Mira hadn't tapped her arm- rather impatiently- and leaned over to whisper- well more like sort- of- not- yell- on her ear- "He's staring at you!"

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Rolling her eyes, Mira clarified, "Natsu's staring at you!"

The blonde had to fight down a blush as she looked back towards Natsu, his gaze falling on her, and she felt like her cheeks would burn off as she quickly turned away so that her back was facing him. She glared at Mira. "He is not." But he was and he had caught her staring as well.

"He is!" She stated, overly confident of herself and her matchmaking ways. Oh God, she was falling victim to the crazy She-Devil once again!

"Oh my God!" Mira suddenly exclaimed. Her eyes were literally shining and she looked like Christmas had come early as she jumped in her seat and said, "He's walking over here! I knew it!"

Walking over here? Her drunk brain took a few seconds to comprehend what she'd just said and by the time it did, it had been too late. Lucy felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned around to find Natsu standing there, smiling widely down at her. Damn it, had that goofy smile of his always been so sexy? God, she was drunk. _Really_ drunk.

"Hey Lucy," he said, and she was surprised that his voice didn't sound as confident as it had before. Was he also drunk? Oh God, this was already smelling like trouble. Literally.

"Let's go get a drink. You don't look hammered enough!" He smirked down at her and she rolled her eyes and shook her head. No, she was not getting up. If she did, she'd probably fall and make yet again, _another_ scene at this wedding.

"I'm good. If I want another one, I'l just ask the waiter to bring it to m-"

She was interrupted when Mira yelled, "She would love to, Natsu!"

Lucy turned around to give her a glare, but she wasn't even looking at her. She was smiling brightly at Natsu before she practically pushed Lucy off her chair until she was standing up.

Grumbling some incoherent curse words at Mira, Lucy walked passed Natsu feeling like a pro as she walked confidently- and without tripping herself- towards the bar counter. Maybe he was right. She wasn't hammered enough. She could definitely go a few more rounds. Yep, she was an idiot.

And so, they went a few more rounds, Lucy challenging Natsu every once in awhile. And then the competition got bigger when a brown haired girl- which Lucy later found out her name was Cana- joined in.

When women began to gather at the middle of the dance floor awaiting for Juvia to throw her bouquet, Natsu had helped Lucy there. She rolled her eyes, saying she was probably not going to get it. But then, when Juvia threw it, the blonde was screaming and jumping to try and catch it. And when she actually did, her eyes widened, turning around in a heartbeat to find Natsu, smiling brightly at her.

"I got it!" She yelled, very proud of herself as she continued to boast about it to everyone that walked passed her. Natsu lifted her in the air as she giggled hysterically, his embrace being the warmest she had ever felt.

It was way after Gray and Juvia had left the venue- like an hour later- that people were dancing and laughing and still having fun, that Lucy grabbed tightly onto Natsu's hand, preventing herself from falling on her face. Yeah, now she was really drunk.

"Hey," she said, talking louder now, so Natsu could hear her over the music. "Do you want to make out?"

Yep, she was definitely drunk.

Natsu looked at her like a deer caught in the headlights. He furrowed his eyebrows, probably debating whether or not he had heard her wrong and the blonde giggled, and she repeated, "Do you want to make out, Natsu?"

He still didn't reply, he instead continued to look at her, that surprised expression still on his face. Damn, he was really attractive, no matter what facial expression he made.

So instead of waiting for him to answer or make a move on her, Lucy stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his.

She could practically hear Mira and Cana's jaws drop in disbelief. Bet Mira didn't expect safe and predictable Lucy Heartfilia would actually do something like this, huh. Well, Lucy hadn't expected it either and if she hadn't been as drunk as she was, she probably wouldn't have.

Normal Lucy would have been wondering if it was actually a good idea to kiss a guy she had just met and that was actually pretty close to her ex-boyfriend, but drunk Lucy ignored those thoughts.

Lucy frowned into the kiss after a few seconds. Natsu wasn't responding and a reasonable voice in the back of her mind yelled that it was because he was surprised at how forward she was.

Just when she was starting to feel stupid and embarrassed for kissing him, she felt herself lose her balance a little bit. Dammit, why was the damn room moving in circles?!

She put her hand on Natsu's arm for support and felt his strong arm move. Swiftly, deftly, he slipped his arm around her waist and leaned in to respond to the kiss, making Lucy's heart speed up at an abnormal beat. He could definitely hear and feel it, she was almost sure of that.

His mouth parted just ever so slightly and she felt his lips catch her bottom lip. His tongue darted out to trace her lower lip and Lucy gasped in surprise, opening her mouth just a bit more for him to kiss her even deeper.

Natsu pressed his palm against the small of her back to draw her in closer until she was flush against his chest. Lucy sighed into him, clutching the front of his button up with one hand as the other tangled in his pink hair. His smiled slanted across hers when he hummed happily, pulling away to whisper breathlessly in her ear, "Do you wanna get out of here?"

Lucy's chocolate brown eyes caught his, and she did the craziest thing she had ever done, she said yes.

And that's how they ended up at his apartment, with Lucy pressed against his front door as they made out. She moaned at the cold wood against her exposed shoulders before focusing on the kiss Natsu was prolonging.

His hands slowly drew her dress up and she felt it bunch just under her breasts. Lucy sighed against his mouth when he stroked her stomach. She pulled away and planted soft kisses on his neck, making him groan when she sucked a bit of skin.

The rational part of her brain was telling her to stop but she was too drunk and Natsu was a very good kisser- so good that he made her forget all reason with each hot kiss.

Lucy ignored the voice of reason until it fell silent. She gave herself up to the sensations that Natsu was feeding her. She whimpered when his hand sneaked underneath her bra and cupped her right breast. Pulling away, she gulped in a lungful of air.

They were lying on his bed now with him on top of her. Everything was going so fast. Too fast.

"This is a bad idea," Natsu murmured. "We're both drunk. I can't take advantage of you, Lucy."

Lucy felt a thrill run through her at the sound of her name on his lips. She locked her eyes with his, both of them breathing heavily as they just stared at each other for a few seconds.

She shrugged. "Yeah, maybe it is a very bad idea." She whispered against his lips and arched her hips into his. She felt Natsu's sharp intake of breath. His head dropped to let his tongue draw irregular patterns on her neck. Lucy closed her eyes so hard, she thought she was seeing stars.

"Do you want to stop?" Natsu whispered in her ear. He bit it gently, making it harder to tell him no. Because she really wanted him.

"No, please don't stop." She turned to kiss him but he pulled away.

"Are you sure? Because there's no turning back."

Lucy stared into his deep green eyes, her heart skipping a beat as she realized that she wanted him more than she had just a few seconds ago. The fact that he gave her a chance to back out made her smile up at him.

"I'm not going to change my mind in the middle of it Natsu, so don't worry."

He chuckled and pulled her back to him. His kisses became more urgent and Lucy was lost in pleasure.

* * *

Lucy woke up with a terrible hangover.

She got up slowly, her head spinning as she tried to remember where she was and what had happened last night.

Feeling groggy and disoriented, she looked down at herself and wondered why she was naked underneath the sheets. Her eyes widened. Her head spinned as she looked around the room, realizing she wasn't in her bedroom. No, she was in Natsu's. Last night, they… Oh God.

She groaned as she remembered making love to him all night- four times to be exact. Damn it! Why did she remember everything! Wasn't she supposed to wake up, not remembering what had happened, and just ignore it ever did?! But she couldn't, she just couldn't.

Staring at their clothes scattered on the floor, Lucy groaned again and covered her face with a pillow.

Her life- unfortunately- had officially turned into a cheap romance novel.

She glanced at the sleeping boy beside her and sighed, deciding it was best that she left before she woke him up. She really did not want to be there when he did. It was too embarrassing.

As she gathered the blankets around her and sat up in bed, she also decide it'd be best if she just pretend it never happened. She barely knew the guy after all. It had been a one time thing- she cringed as reality hit her then. Yeah, last night, she had casual sex. With no strings attached.

So she picked up her clothes, got dressed, and left the apartment thinking she would never see Natsu again.

Yeah, well, she didn't know the roller coaster ride her life was about to become.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Okay, so I came up with this story two days ago and couldn't stop myself from writing the first chapter. I have to say, I really like where it's going. And I hope you all do as well!**

 **I'm not sure if or when I'll continue this story, so it would be of big help if you left a review to let me know if I should and if you liked this first chapter, of course ;)**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **~ Blue ~**


	2. The Crazy Realization

**Author's Note:**

 **Hello everyone! I know I said I wasn't sure if I'd continue this story but- after receiving so many encouraging reviews- I decided I would! I still can't believe this story received so many wonderful reviews. I had seriously not expected that! You all made me very happy.**

 **So… I would like to give a special thank you to MarSofTheGalaxies, Bookwriter16, DaeImagines, MystpopGIRL, Guest, FairyDancerHeartfilia, Guest (2), Ghost's buddy, Gerrie Dragneel, nikkiw67, katiekat2001, Guest (3), sidjr100, fairyfan8, Melime14, animeislife24, Guest (4), LovingmyOTP's, Celestial Dragon, DiamondDustWriter, Jaz-Chan-Senpai and sarara1.8 for reviewing the first chapter!**

 **I hope you enjoy this second chapter!**

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail! Hiro Mashima does!_

* * *

 **Nine Months of Crazy**

 **Chapter 2: The Crazy Realization**

Lucy sighed with contentment as she eased into the steaming water. It had been a long day and she had really needed a bath. She'd been out with her friends all day, after all. Mira had called her, telling her she had something important to tell them. Lucy rolled her eyes. It had been no surprise to any of them when Mira- a tad too giddily- told them she and Laxus were- yet again- an item. Huge surprise? Not really.

Mira had suggested to go shopping to celebrate. Exactly what, Lucy wasn't sure. This happened oh so often that it was a lot more convenient and affordable to celebrate when it didn't happen, instead of when it did. But Lucy decided not to question her friend's actions. She knew her well enough to actually do so.

Closing her eyes, the blonde sank deeper into the bath, letting the hot water creep up past her upper lip, right at the base of her nose. She exhaled into the water and then, slowly, her hands fell over her flat stomach, caressing the skin there. Biting her lower lip almost painfully, Lucy thought about what had happened at the mall just a few hours ago.

They'd been walking past the food court, Yukino had suggested to sit down and eat something before they continued on their quest to buy everything that so happened to be on sale. Yeah, Mira and Brandish- Lucy's childhood friend- were shopaholics. Not that she was far behind, really. She just wasn't at their level of crazy, yet.

And it was then, just as they had walked passed a corn dog stand, that Lucy started feeling nauseous. Why? Well, she was still weighing the possibilities to this very moment. She had run to the nearest trash can, emptied her stomach, and smiled awkwardly at the couple who had been about to throw away their trash as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Yeah, another check to her long list of most embarrassing moments.

Her friends had suggested her to go home and rest, since they all thought she probably had the stomach flu. But, Lucy didn't think so. No, there were other possibilities. There was something… something they didn't know and was starting to make her stomach twist with panic.

Just a few nights before, she had woken up early, running to her bathroom to empty her stomach. Lucy had taken deep breaths, eyes wide as she kneeled in front of the toilet, grabbing onto the rim for dear life as her stomach- once more- ridded itself of any remaining contents.

Her hands had been shaking as she grabbed a cloth to wipe her face clean. And just as she'd stood up to wash her mouth, the thought of what was most likely happening to her began. What had happened today only added to the dread that had been building up since two days prior.

Not to forget, of course, that she was late. Yeah, her period was a week late. And she was never late. She had shrugged it off until the morning she'd woken up rushing towards the bathroom.

And now, she could only hope it was just stress. Yeah, she was having a stressful week after all. Her father had assigned her- without giving her much of a choice- to help with his campaign. He wanted to be re-elected for mayor of Magnolia. It was stressful enough for her to have to deal with her father on the daily, adding a bunch of power hungry creeps that she had to pretend to stand and talk to in boring meetings, just made it hell.

There was also her book. She'd been having terrible writer's block, frustrating her to no ends. She'd had nights in which she'd just sit at her desk, staring blankly at her computer, a pile of crumpled papers sitting by her feet.

To top it off, she'd been busy with her foundation. When her father was first elected for mayor, she'd taken the responsibility of a charity organization- which had been her idea, though her father had taken credit- that helps children in Magnolia and other parts of Crocus that are living in poverty to remain in school as well to improve their living conditions. Organizing programs, finding new sponsors, creating activities, and preparing events was no easy job.

So, yeah, it was probably stress. It had to be. It just had to.

But… What if she really was... pregnant? Her hands curled up into fists, her entire body shivering even though she'd filled the bath with hot water.

Pregnant… She opened her eyes and stared up at her ceiling. She really couldn't imagine herself pregnant, not right now. And not in the situation she was in. No, she'd always thought it'd happen way after marriage, five years after, preferably. Well, things never happened like she'd like anyways, so it wouldn't be that huge of a surprise. Just a little. She grunted. No, this was a huge deal. And a huge mistake.

This just couldn't be happening.

She took let out a shaky breath. If she really was pregnant… then it was _his_. Natsu Dragneel. She bit her lip. She hadn't been able to forget that name as much as she had tried. It had been almost a month since the wedding, and she still couldn't forget his touch, the feeling of his lips on hers.

That night… She could only describe it with one word- crazy. She'd never done anything like that. She'd never been with someone she didn't know, or hadn't been already in a relationship with. She'd- after all- only been with one guy. And that had been Loke, who she'd dated for almost four years.

Her arms and legs shivered by just the thought of that night. They'd made love the whole night- well, more like had sex the whole night. They'd done it four times. Lucy's cheeks darkened as she remembered their first time. It had been fast, hard and propelled them to a very pleasurable draw. The next three times had been slow and a sweet torment. Natsu had been so gentle with her, whispering her name in her ear and caressing her cheek as he stared at her. Lucy cringed as she recalled the number of times she'd begged for him to end the torture already. She had never sounded so helpless. Loke had never lasted as long as Natsu did. She flushed ten different shades of red at just the thought. God, she was a huge pervert. She should really stop borrowing all of Brandish's erotic novels.

Covering her flushed face with her wet hands, she grunted. How could she have been so thoughtless?

Her eyes then widened in realization, her hands dropping back in the water. They'd used a condom, she was sure of that. She remembered him using it for their first time! But… they'd done it four times. Shit. Trying to remember if they used protection during those other times, Lucy sighed loudly with frustration when she realized she couldn't remember- or that she had, but she didn't want to admit her reality. Why had she been so careless?!

And… she hadn't been taking her birth control pill, not since she'd broken up with Loke. She'd run out and forgotten to buy more. It wasn't like she'd need them anyways, that's what she'd thought back then. She scoffed at her stupidity.

This was all just a huge mess. A careless act that was going to bring her huge consequences.

There was only one way she'd know for certain if she was pregnant. She knew that. But she was terrified to find out. To know, to have proof that she was actually pregnant. But… maybe she wasn't. Maybe she was overthinking it, like she did for everything else.

Standing up, with new found determination in her eyes, Lucy got out of the bathtub and wrapped a towel around her. Then she stepped out still wet.

Making her way towards her sink, she stared at her reflection, her brown eyes shining in the mirror, her mouth opening and closing as she took deep breaths. Hands shaking, Lucy reached towards the cabinets, where she knew she had hidden the boxes Mira had bought for her. She'd brought about five different types of pregnancy tests for her while she was still dating Loke. She'd walked in smiling widely, with a bag full of pregnancy tests, stating, "A girl always has to be prepared for the unexpected!"

Lucy almost groaned now, because she wasn't prepared for the unexpected, she never was.

Taking a deep breath, she began to open up the packages, hands trembling as she briefly looked over the directions and then started one test at a time.

Her head was aching and her brain was swirling with different scenarios- her father, oh God, her father. He'd kill her. He probably would have been ecstatic if it had been Loke's, because he's a well known business man, who partnered with her father and is now in charge of running the Heartfilia Railways. But Natsu… her father would be furious. Because he wasn't someone who'd benefit him or his company or even his name. No, quite the opposite. And… she wasn't married. She was a single woman, who was probably carrying a child of a man she barely knew. Natsu… would he even want to be involved? Would she have to go through this alone? But… she couldn't! She wasn't ready to be a mother…

A knot formed in her throat as she stared at the five sticks in horror.

The next five minutes where the longest five minutes of her life. She began pacing around in her bathroom, her hands coming up to flip her long hair on one shoulder and then on the other. Every five seconds she'd chant, "It's okay. It's going to be okay. Everything will be perfectly fine. You're just having a scare. Yeah, that's it. That's all."

Running her hands through her hair, Lucy sighed in frustration, until she noticed there was only one minute left. One minute, and she'd know… Her heart was beating so fast she feared it'd jump out of her chest.

And then, she noticed a change in one of the sticks. She furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to remember if, on this particular brand, two dashes was a good thing… because she was definitely seeing two and she could feel her heartbeat roaring in her ears.

Narrowing her eyes, Lucy decided that she was most certainly remembering the instructions incorrectly, so she looked at the test that would spell out her fate.

As the word blossomed to life just before her eyes, Lucy's world began to spin, the pregnancy test falling to the floor with a clatter. That one word, had just changed her entire life.

"No… This can't be…" She whispered, her eyes glossing over as she shook her head. "No… it has to be wrong!"

She quickly checked the rest of the tests, her hands shaking as she tossed one after another to the floor, all being positive.

And she started sobbing, not from happiness, no, it was everything but happiness.

Taking a few steps back, away from the tests that confirmed her reality, Lucy stopped only once her back hit her bathroom door.

Sliding down to the floor, her shaking hands covered her eyes as her shoulders shook. Turning to her right, where a full length mirror stood, the blonde watched as her tears ran down her cheeks, her lips trembling as she hiccuped, "I… I'm p-pregnant…"

Slowly, she stood up, letting the towel that covered her naked body drop to the floor. Staring at her reflection, the blonde's teary eyes traveled from her hips and curvs to her stomach. Her hands moved to hold her flat belly. Turning on her side, she imagined what she'd look like in just months from now. God, she was going to get fat. She chuckled. It wasn't like that was her biggest concern. No, that was far from the worst part of this… situation.

Tears continued to run down her cheeks as she remembered a conversation she had had with her friends just over two months ago.

They had gone out for coffee, sitting down outside the coffee shop as they laughed and chatted about life.

It was during one of their many conversations that evening, that Yukino had suddenly questioned, "Who do you think will be the first one of us to get pregnant?"

Lucy had choked on her drink, coughing out, "W-where did that come from, Y-Yukino?"

The short haired girl shrugged, "A friend of mine just had a baby. So, I don't know, I guess I'm curious to hear who you all think will be the first of us to have a baby."

Brandish grinned then, scooting closer in her seat and crossing her arms over the table as she stated, "It's probably gonna be Mira." The white haired beauty didn't seem surprised by Brandish's answer, her smile only widened as Brandish continued, "That is, if Laxus ever gets his head out of his ass and finally decides to settle down. I mean, that idiot is such a trainwreck." She turned to Mira, eyebrows furrowed as she questioned, "Are you sure he isn't bipolar?"

Mira let out a soft sigh. "At first I wasn't, but no, he isn't. He's just… complicated." She then grinned. "But still hot. Very hot. And he can really satisfy a lady." She winked and both Lucy and Yukino sweat dropped while Brandish only nodded.

"Yeah, well, the guy had to have something good if you put up with all his shit." Mira nodded in agreement. "From one to ten, how good is he in bed? Is he the 'I can't walk right for a week' good or the 'headboard banging, sheet clenching, legs shaking, hair pulling' good?"

Lucy gawked at her two friend as Mira furrowed her eyebrows, tapping her index finger on her chin as she answered, "Definitely a ten. And… Can I choose both?" Mira smiled, giggling when she caught Yukino blushing and Lucy stuttering something along the lines of 'Too much information!'

Brandish smirked and shook her head. "Well, you're quite the lucky girl."

Her eyes then landed on Yukino. "How 'bout Sting?"

Yukino blushed madly then, her eyes wide as she shook her head. "I-I'm not saying!"

Brandish whistled lowly. "He's that bad?"

Cheeks burning red, the light blue haired shook her head immediately. "No! He's great! Definitely a ten!"

Brandish bursted out laughing while Yukino covered her flushed face in embarrassment.

Running her fingers down her short, green hair, Brandish turned to Lucy, grinning evilly as she asked, "How's Loke in the sack?"

Lucy crossed her arms over chest and puffed out her cheeks as she muttered, "Does it matter?"

Shrugging, her childhood friend muttered, "Not really. I'm just curious. I mean, you've been with this guy for almost four years and haven't cheated on him. So, I guess he must be good."

Glaring at her friend, the blonde muttered, "I'd never cheat! Not even if they weren't good in bed!"

Brandish 'tskd' and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right, forgot your the good girl type." She eyed the angry blonde and smirked. "Yet, you're dating that four eyed playboy."

"He's very charming, you know. He really loves me…" Lucy muttered, hands tightening around herself. "And I really love him. Just like he is."

Snorting, Brandish shook her head. "I still think he's not good for you. That cheap version of Charlie Sheen will end up messing it up. I just know it."

Glaring down at the table, Lucy muttered, "You just don't get it." Her friend had never liked Loke, and less for her. Though she wasn't very good at expressing her feelings, Lucy knew her friend was just looking out for her, she always was. "It's probably because you've never been in love…" She muttered and she heard her friend scoff.

"I so have." She answered and Mira's eyes brightened in both happiness and curiosity. Lucy raised an eyebrow in challenge and Brandish smirked, "I'm in love with myself." She answered confidently, Yukino's jaw dropping and Mira grunting in disappointment.

Lucy rolled her eyes, she had been expecting that answer. "God, get over yourself already."

Sighing dramatically, Brandish answered, "What? I just can't help loving myself. It's pretty hard not to." She then rested her cheek on the palm of her hand and muttered, "It's hard being me, you know? Such beauty going to waste if I only date one guy. That's why I'm single. I'm no one's. I'm free to sleep with who I want, when I want, and do whatever I want. That's probably why I'll be the last one of us to settle down and have a baby." She grinned wickedly. "The guy who wants me all for himself better give me a ring so big and heavy I'll have to drag it around."

Lucy's eyebrows twitched as she watched her friend describe to Mira just how big the ring had to be and how she'd have to drag it to her truck as she walked out of her mansion. Mira's eyes were shining as Brandish instructed her not to say yes to Laxus unless he gave her a ring worth having to spend the rest of her life with that 'ass.' And Mira was actually taking notes!

Groaning, the blonde had dropped her head on the table while Yukino giggled beside her. Turning to her only normal friend, Lucy noticed her wink at her before she whispered, "You know, Lucy. From the four of us, I think it'll be you who has a baby first."

Eyes widening, the blonde stood up straight and shook her head almost violently. "W-what?! No way! It's definitely gonna be Mira! Or maybe you!" She looked down, noticing their table was actually made of glass and then looked frantically around the coffee shop as she yelled, "I gotta find wood to knock on! There's no way it's gonna be me!"

Yukino's giggles now echoed in Lucy's head as she stared at her naked body in the mirror.

Running her hands up and down her belly, imagining a huge belly there instead, Lucy's eyes widened, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes, falling slowly down her cheeks. Her knees weakened then, making her drop to the floor. Hiding her tear stained face with her knees and arms, the blonde cried for what felt like hours. Why? Why had she been such an idiot? This was not how it was supposed to happen! She was supposed to fall in love… Get married… And then have children.

Her eyes then widened. What… what would her mother think of her if she were here? Would she be disappointed? The blonde smiled down at her feet. No, she'd probably support her decision, comfort her as she cried, and tell her it's alright, that everything was going to be okay.

But she wasn't here. She'd been gone for almost thirteen years.

Glancing up from her knees, the blonde stared at her tear stained reflection in the mirror before her. Her hands came up to cup her cheeks and then, she slapped them, arms shaking violently as she whispered, "No, this isn't happening. This is just a bad dream. I'm going to wake up any minute now."

Her lips trembled as she watched her reflection, fighting down a sob when she realized that she wasn't going to wake up. No, she'd made a mistake. And now she would have to pay for that mistake.

Frowning at herself, the blonde then whispered, "But… Maybe… It doesn't have to happen…"

The blood drained from her face, from her body even as she repeated the words she had just spoken in her head. Would she really do something so atrocious? So cruel? So horrible… This baby… Her baby… It wasn't it's fault. None of this was it's fault. So, why should it pay the consequences for her mistake? Her body trembled. Maybe… because she was scared, terrified of what was to come. Of change.

Standing up, the blonde grabbed a towel and covered herself, going out to her bedroom to grab her phone and then rushing back to her bathroom to get one of the many pregnancy tests she had taken.

Taking a picture of the one that spelled out Pregnant, the blonde took a sharp breath and sent it to her friends. She needed to tell someone. She just couldn't deal with this all by herself. She just couldn't.

" _We need to meet up! It's urgent!"_ Lucy texted after sending the picture.

Mira was the first to answer, _"Oh my."_

" _I'm going to be an auntie!"_

" _I think I'm going to cry."_

" _Forget that, I'm actually bawling."_

The blonde sighed. A small smile took form on her lips as she read Mira's texts. She had been expecting these responses from her. Typical Mira.

Brandish answered next with, _"Fuck."_

" _The womanizer knocked you up?!"_

" _I'm gonna kick that creepy bastard's ass so damn hard he won't be able to stand up and flirt with any bitch that crosses his double vision ever again!"_

" _Or I'll just castrate the bastard. Yeah, that sounds like the better option. We don't need another minion running around the world, using their fucking bananas to impregnate poor and very innocent girls!"_

Rolling her eyes, Lucy couldn't stop herself from laughing out loud. This baby, was not Loke's after all. It was Natsu's, the guy with the toothy smile she had met at Gray's wedding. And also, Brandish was just being her stupid self, making the blonde laugh for no reason, even when all she wanted was to curl up and cry all night long.

Yukino was the last one to answer. _"Oh my God!"_

" _When did… What… I'm speechless."_

" _Should I say congrats?"_

" _Forget I said that!"_

" _I, well, this is, wow. Have you told Loke? Oh God, that's why you threw up earlier, right?! Duh, it probably is…"_

" _We definitely have to meet! Is tomorrow a good day?"_

Texting them all back, Lucy sniffed as she sent them the same text, telling them to meet up tomorrow at the usual coffee shop. And they all agreed with the spot and hour.

Curling up in her large bed, the blonde tried hard not to break into tears as she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, hoping that when she woke up, this had all been a very bad dream and by morning, everything was back to normal.

But when morning came, the pregnancy tests were still in her bathroom, and she had- yet again- woken up running to throw up what little she had eaten the day before.

She'd been shaking when she'd walked out of her room, hoping she didn't run into her father and just burst out crying, telling him she was pregnant. But, to her luck- for once- she didn't run into him and she just rushed past the estate's workers and towards her car.

Twice, that's how many times the blonde had tried to ditch on her friends and just pretend the text she had sent was a very stupid and out of character joke. But she couldn't just act rashly by herself without telling someone else what she planned to do. No, she needed to tell someone and she needed someone to talk her out of it. Out of getting rid of it… Of her baby. Her baby… Those words didn't suit well with her… She just… wasn't ready for that kind of responsibility.

When she stepped out of her car, she could already see her friends sitting down at one of the many tables outside of the coffee shop. Mira looked ecstatic, while Brandish looked angry and Yukino looked worried.

But when the blonde walked up to them, they all tried their best to comfort their frowning friend, whose eyes watered as she tried to stutter out a greeting.

And so, her friends bombarded her with questions once the blonde gained her composure and didn't break out into a fit of cries.

"When did it happen?" Brandish spoke first followed by, "I thought you two broke up? Did this happen before you broke up? How far along are you? Why didn't you take the pill? That's like, a fucking law! You have to take the damn pill, always!"

Mira was squealing while Brandish spoke, giddy as always as she clapped her hands and moved around in her seat, not being able to stay still as she went on and on about how excited she just was. "My, my. I can't believe you're pregnant! This was such a surprise! If it's a girl, will you name her after her favorite auntie?! I'm talking about me, just an FYI. Don't want the poor kid to be named after Brandish. What kind of example will she set for your child? Not a very good one."

Which then came a, "Hey! What the hell do you mean?! I'm a great example! I'm an independent woman with damn good career. And plus, I'll be her hottest aunt. And will give her great life advice. I mean, my life's philosophy is just the Goddamn best. Beauty, smarts, money, that is all one needs!"

Mira shook her head, turning to Lucy as she pointed to Brandish, "See what I mean? Not a good example." She clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Too conceited and selfish. I, on the other hand, am the complete opposite. A great role model!"

Yukino sweat dropped, raising her hands to try to stop the two as she muttered, "I think you two are missing the point. Lucy doesn't even know if she'll keep the baby."

Mira and Brandish stopped then, turning sharply to stare at Yukino and then at Lucy as they yelled in unison, "What?!"

Lucy frowned and looked down, her hands holding the steaming cup of coffee that had been placed before her minutes before. "I'm still not sure. I-I don't think I can do this… I mean, I'm not ready to be a mom."

Mira's eyes widened, any trace of her cheerfulness from before gone as she stared at the blonde. "You're thinking about adoption?" She whispered and Lucy bit painfully into the insides of her cheeks and shrugged.

"That…" She started to whisper, glancing at her friends before she looked away again and continued, "Or abortion."

Yukino gasped and Mira covered her shocked expression with her hands, whispering, "You can't do that…"

"She can do whatever the hell she wants." Brandish suddenly spoke. Her eyes caught Lucy's and the blonde smiled sadly at her before her friend continued, "It's her decision. Not ours."

They all stayed quiet for a few seconds after that, until Yukino cleared her throat and asked, "Have you told Loke?"

All eyes were suddenly on the blonde and she gulped audibly before she shook her head. "No, I don't have to tell him anything."

Brandish's eyes flared in anger, about to curse at the bastard, but stopped when Lucy continued, "He doesn't have to know because… it's not his."

She was certain it wasn't Loke's. Because, they hadn't been together in over two months. And she had just recently been having the symptoms of a pregnancy, not to mention her period being late only just this month.

Mira stared blankly at the table, before her eyes widened, having just connected the dots. "Oh, God, don't tell me…"

Yukino blinked her eyes at Lucy and then turned to Mira, who was mumbling incoherent words.

Brandish raised an eyebrow, and then shook her head. "Well, what poor guy's life are you about to change forever?"

Lucy glared at her friend before she muttered, "You don't know him. But Mira definitely does and Yukino may have probably seen him at the wedding…"

Yukino's eyes widened then. "Is it… Is it that pink haired guy you were with the entire night?"

Brandish snorted. "He's got pink hair? What the hell, Lucy? First the stupid womanizer and now pink hair baby daddy?"

Lucy narrowed her eyes. "You have green hair. So don't talk."

Rolling her eyes, the nutritionist muttered, "And I sure as hell can rock it better than anyone else could."

Ignoring Brandish, Lucy turned towards a wide eyed Mira. "I… I know you said you two were close… So, I would like to ask you to tell me where Natsu lives… I kind of ran out of there and don't exactly remember where he lives." The blonde looked down to stare at her coffee before she whispered, "I think… he should at least know… Before, well, I do whatever I decide to do."

Mira smiled kindly at the blonde, reaching for her trembling hand and holding it tightly between her two warm hands. "Of course. That's a great idea. I-I think you should talk to Natsu. He's a great guy, you know? I've known him since we were kids and… I think this will surely shock him… I mean, in your situation, who wouldn't be shocked?" She smiled and Lucy couldn't help smiling back.

"And though he's a bit of an idiot, and maybe still a bit immature, and hasn't ever been in a committed relationship, I'm sure he'll sit beside you and take your hand throughout this entire crazy roller coaster ride. Because Natsu may be a lot of things, but one things for sure, he's reliable and will do anything he can to help others. And when he knows you're carrying his child, trust me, he'll do anything he can to talk you out of getting an abortion." The blonde was crying now, sobbing onto Mira's shoulder as her friend patted her back in comfort.

"I still think the two of you will be great together, you know. I think you're good for Natsu and he might just be the guy you've been waiting for." She whispered only for the blonde to hear and her sobs only got louder. "You're going to be a great mom, Lucy. Don't ever doubt yourself. Life puts obstacles in all of our journey's, and we must overcome them, not run away from them. Be strong. I know you can do this." She pulled away from her hug, glossy eyes staring into Lucy's brown ones as she continued, "We all do."

Yukino nodded, a wide smile taking form on her lips as she added, "We'll help with anything we can! We won't let you do this alone!"

Lucy smiled, sniffing as she whispered a barely audible, "Thank you."

Turning to her still quiet friend, Lucy smiled when Brandish rolled her eyes. "I don't like kids, you know that." Lucy chuckled and nodded. "But… I'm still going to help you. I'll support you in whatever decision you take."

"Thank you." Lucy whispered again, cleaning the tears that wouldn't stop rolling down her cheeks.

Clearing her throat, Brandish then asked, "And what does our town's mayor think about all of this?"

Lucy shrugged, smiling sheepishly as she answered, "Nothing yet. I haven't told him." She sighed. "But I can already picture his reaction. He'll definitely be mad. I'll just wait as long as I can to tell him. You know, maybe… I won't even have to tell him anything."

An awkward silenced suddenly settled around the table as Brandish rubbed the back of her neck and sighed and Yukino frowned down at her hands.

Mira looked around the table, her head cocked to the side as she debated something and then, her eyes brightened and she shot her arm in the air and yelled, "I call godmother!"

Brandish raised an eyebrow and then glared daggers at the white haired girl. "What?! Hell no! I've known her longer, so I call godmother!"

Mira shook her index finger. "Nope. That's not how it works. It's whoever calls it first." She grinned evilly. "And guess what? I just did!"

Brandish opened her mouth, ready to curse Mira and her stupid rationing but stopped when Mira suddenly continued, "Oh! I almost forgot! I also call maid of honor! You know, just to make sure you don't beat me to it." She winked and Brandish just about exploded.

"That's not fair! I call for a re- do! When I say ready we call out what we want, and whoever calls it out first, get's to be that!" She argued but Mira shook her head.

"No can do! I've already called it, so too bad! Better luck next time, greeny!" She laughed hysterically when Brandish cursed loudly and continued to argue for a re-do.

Lucy sighed as she watched her friends. Some people just never change. And as she watched them, laughing loudly as they continued to argue about the stupidest things, Lucy realized she hoped they never did.

* * *

Holding tightly to the piece of paper Mira had given her with Natsu's address, the blonde took a deep breath as she walked down the hall and towards his apartment. Her entire body was shaking once she stood in front of his door, looking down every two seconds to make sure she wasn't at the wrong apartment.

She was panicking. Because she was about to change Natsu's life. Just like her life had changed a few days ago when the pregnancy test turned out being positive.

She anxiously massaged her moist hands as she paced up and down the hall, catching the curious and questioning glances from Natsu's neighbors as they walked in and out of their apartment's.

Everytime she glanced at the door bell, she suddenly found it very hard to breath. She needed to calm down. She was a big girl! Yeah… She could do this, right? She could totally do this!

She frowned. No she couldn't. How was she even going to tell him?! Was she just supposed to ring that doorbell, smile at him, and tell him, 'Oh hey, Natsu. Remember me? I'm that blonde girl you slept with after your friend's wedding. Oh, and guess what? I'm pregnant! And before you ask, yes it's yours!'

Lucy groaned, no that was not good at all. She just couldn't. Maybe she could just call him? Lucy shook her head. No, she needed to do this now! But maybe tomorrow would be a better day?

She then felt an awkward tumbling inside her stomach and she just about wanted to run out of there. God, she couldn't throw up now! That would just top it all off. It would be a, 'Hey Natsu. I'm pregnant! And you're the dad! Oh, and I need to hurl, so get out of the way before I hurl all over you!'

Swallowing hard, Lucy tried to get over the queasy feeling. She wasn't nauseous, no. She was just very nervous. That was all, she kept chanting, trying really hard not to hurl all over Natsu's door.

Closing her eyes, Lucy reassured herself that she could do it. Raising a shaky finger to ring the bell, Lucy swallowed one last time and closed her eyes just before she actually ringed the bell.

And she didn't open her eyes, not even when she heard the rustling behind the closed door, no, she waited until she actually heard the door open. And then, because she fucking Lucy Heartfilia, she yelled out as soon as the door opened, "I'm pregnant!"

Cursing her stupidity and whatever force had cursed her with such bad luck, she opened her eyes, expecting Natsu to be staring down at her as if she were crazy- that at this point, she wouldn't even try to argue against it. But the person standing there was definitely not Natsu. And Lucy regretted ever coming here. Damn it, she should have just left and called him! That hadn't been such a bad plan!

A long, brown haired girl stood before Lucy, brows raised as she eyed the fidgeting blonde before her. She then croaked a wide grin and bursted out laughing. And Lucy just wanted to crawl down a hole. "Is this like a new trend?" The girl finally choked out between laughs. Lucy furrowed her eyebrows and the girl standing before her grinned. "If it is, I mean, it's a little weird. Are you supposed to just go around telling all of your neighbors the news or something?"

Lucy's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No! That's not it! You see… I um…" Her eyes finally took in the girl's appearance and her cheeks flamed with color when she realized she was only wearing a pair of shorts and bra. "Is… Is this a bad time?" Her words had been barely audible, her heart thumping loudly in her chest as different scenarios ran through her head. Was...Was this his girlfriend? Did… would he be troubled by her pregnancy… since he already had someone…

The taller girl furrowed her eyebrows and snorted. "Nah. This is just my everyday outfit. You know, if you've got the body, you better show it off." She winked and chuckled when Lucy raised a questioning eyebrow. "So, you're pregnant, huh? Is it scary? You know, I once got a scare, and totally freaked. But it ended up being nothing. You don't know how relieved I was. The idiot I'm with is not father material at ll, and I'm far from mother material myself. Not the maternal type for sure." She shook her head, sighing as she flipped her long hair behind her shoulders.

Lucy bit down on her lips before she asked, "Does… Does he live here with you?"

Raising an eyebrow, the girl shook her head and scoffed. "Oh, hell no. That pig has his own place. I live here with a friend. Moving in together is a huge deal, you know. A huge step in a relationship. And we're long ways from getting there."

Lucy let out a breath she'd apparently been holding, feeling relieved all of a sudden. Why? She wasn't really sure.

"Oh, that's good to hear." She smiled at the girl and extended her hand to her in greeting. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia." Taking a deep breath she continued, "I'm pregnant. And it's Natsu's."

The girl stared wide eyed at the blonde. After a few seconds, she yelled, "What?!" She ran her hands down her hair before she cursed and muttered, "That idiot! I told him to always use a fucking condom! Fuck, I even showed him a video of how to put the fucking thing on! Damn it! And I showed him pictures and bought him the most graphic books I could find! That idiot, it really had to be him that went and got a girl pregnant. Fuck it. Gildarts is gonna kill him."

Lucy awkwardly stood there as the brown haired girl continued to rant about her friend's stupidity. She then abruptly stopped and turned towards the blonde, brows furrowed as she stared at her and Lucy took a step back, feeling a little intimidated. "We've met before, haven't we?"

The blonde cocked an eyebrow and then, as she took another look at the girl before her, she realized they had. At Gray's wedding. She was the girl that had joined her and Natsu's stupid drinking contest!

When the blonde nodded the girl cursed. "At Gray's wedding, right?"

And Lucy nodded again and the girl cursed, again.

Sighing, the girl muttered a couple more incoherent words before she said, "I'm Cana, by the way. Natsu moved in with me a couple of months ago, you know, since he wasn't living in Magnolia before. But I'm sure you've heard from Mira." Lucy raised an eyebrow and Cana smirked. "I've known her since we were kids, and Natsu as well." Letting out a tired breath she then mumbled, "The idiot is not here right now, but you could leave me your number and I'll make him call you and don't worry, I won't let him bail on you. It's not like he would, anyways."

Smiling down at her feet, Lucy nodded. "Yeah, from what I've heard, he's a pretty reliable guy."

Cana snorted. "Yeah, well, that's one of his few good traits."

Lucy laughed along with Cana and then excused herself, thanking her as she left her number with her, the brown haired girl promising to get Natsu to call her as soon as he got home.

She had just clicked the button for the elevator, when the doors opened, and just before she could step inside, her eyes locked on a pair of very familiar dark green ones. And her heart had started pounding so hard, it was the only thing she could hear.

Natsu seemed to be just as shocked as she was as he stood wide eyed before her, still standing inside the elevator.

"Lucy?" He questioned, eyebrows furrowing, as he watched her take a step back, and then he realized a man behind her, watching the two with a confused look and Natsu quickly stepped out of the elevator, letting the man walk pass Lucy and into the elevator.

The blonde looked down once she heard the elevator doors close, not being able to face the man before her. Because, she was carrying his child. They were going to have a baby. And then, all she wanted to do right there and then, was run away from her problems, to just end all of this, have an abortion. Her hands trembled violently at her dark thoughts.

"Lucy…" He called again and the blonde finally glanced up and smiled awkwardly at him.

"It's been a while, huh?" She mumbled and he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yeah…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I woke up… and you weren't there…" He grinned down at her and her heart skipped a beat. God, why did she always react this way to him?! "For a moment, I kind of thought it'd all been a dream… Stupid, huh?"

Lucy raised an eyebrow as he flashed his trademark toothy smile at her and she just about melted. God, what the hell was going on with her?! She needed to get a hold of herself! Don't picture him naked. No, don't think about his lips on yours or on your- Bad Lucy, bad!

Clearing her throat, the blonde nodded, cheeks flushing a bright red as she avoided his gaze and muttered, "Yeah, very stupid, you idiot."

Natsu chuckled. "Again with that, weirdo? Can't you just call me Natsu?"

Lucy's eyebrows twitched, a vein popping out on her forehead as she yelled, "Don't call me weird, idiot! Lucy will do just fine!"

Bursting out in laughter, Natsu nodded as he tried to regain his composure and Lucy glared at him when his gaze fell on hers again. "Nah, I like weirdo better. It suits you, remember?"

And Lucy flipped him off then, making him burst out in laughter, yet again.

"So, whatcha doing around here?" Natsu suddenly asked, a highly amused smirk still tugging at the corners of his lips. "Don't tell me you've just moved into the complex? Do you need help moving in?"

Lucy couldn't stop herself from smiling at him, he was nice, sweet even. "Uhm, no, I don't live here. I, uh, actually came here looking for you…"

His eyebrows furrowed in question and then a smile broke out on his face. "Really? And why is that?" He scratched the back of his head as he tried to figure it out on his own and Lucy almost laughed. Yeah, there was no way he'd figure out, not in a million years. He sighed after a while in frustration. "I give up. Just tell me."

Rolling her eyes, the blonde shook her head and then looked to the side, her arms trembling as she looked back at Natsu and caught his dark eyes, so dark, she almost got lost in them. And before she could stop herself and chicken out of it, she whispered, "I'm pregnant."

Natsu's smile dropped and his eyebrows furrowed, his eyes falling on her belly then. "You're…" He frowned as he looked back up at her, mumbling, "Well, uh…" He cleared his throat. "Congrats?"

Lucy was first shocked by his response, having not expected that. And then she'd been disappointed, why, well she didn't know. And then she was angry, her shoulders shaking as she repeated bitterly, "Congrats?"

He only shrugged. "Yeah. Congrats on the baby. I'm sure the fath-"

And he didn't get to finish his sentence. No, Lucy had slapped him just before he could.

Lucy took fast breaths in and out as she stared at a confused Natsu. He was holding onto his red cheek, eyes wide with confusion and… hurt?

"What the-" He started but he stopped as soon as he caught Lucy's piercing eyes. She was breathing hard, her eyes glossing over with tears as they stared into his and Natsu cursed himself for being an idiot. Whatever he said, had really hurt her.

"Lucy… I'm sorry… I didn't…"

Lucy raised a hand, stopping him from continuing. She shook her head, a single tear running down her left cheek as she whispered, "Don't be. I… I really don't care. I'll just go home…"

She turned to walk towards the elevator but Natsu stopped her. Lucy looked back, her eyes wide as they stared at him. He was holding onto her arm, a confused and hurt look on his face. That look really didn't suit him. Natsu… it was more like him to smile that toothy grin of his all the time. That's the guy that had caught her interest at the wedding, not this Natsu. This Natsu, that she was hurting by not being clear with him.

Sniffing, Lucy looked down, telling him again, "I'm pregnant." He nodded, about to say that she'd already told him that but stopped when she continued, "With your child, idiot."

Natsu dropped her arm then, his eyes widening as they stared at her. "W-what?"

"Crazy, huh?" She muttered, wrapping her arms around herself. Natsu didn't answer her, he just stared blankly down at the floor, his eyes still wide with shock.

And then he ran his hands through his hair, frustration evident in his eyes as he looked at everything but her. Getting tired of the silence, Lucy began making her way towards the elevator, and this time, Natsu didn't stop her. Not that she'd expected him to.

But before she could get on the elevator she looked back at Natsu, eyes flaring with anger when she heard him curse. "You should fucking listen to Cana next time and wear a fucking condom!" And with that she got onto the elevator, the doors closing just as his dark eyes had landed on hers.

And the tears finally dropped down her cheeks freely.

Stepping out of the elevator, Lucy felt the evening breeze blow her long hair back, her eyes closing as she inhaled deeply. She was about to start making her way towards her car but stopped dead on her tracks when she heard a very familiar- and annoying- voice yell after her, "Lucy! Please wait! I-I'm an idiot, I know!"

And she couldn't agree more.

Natsu ran towards her, breathing hard as he stared down at the blond. "I-I want to help… I want to be as involved with this pregnancy as you let me be. I'm not going to run away from my mistakes. I… I'm really sorry for before…" He cracked a smile down at her. "And for not wearing a condom, like Cana taught me to." He rolled his eyes when Lucy broke out in a fit of laughter.

Cleaning the tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes, Lucy shook her head. "You don't have to apologize for anything. Making a baby takes two, you know?"

Natsu smirked. "Cana may have mentioned it." And Lucy shoved the chuckling idiot away. Tucking a stray hair behind her ear, Natsu then whispered. "Apparently, some hangovers last nine months, huh?"

Lucy stared into his eyes, her cheeks flushing when his fingers traced her cheek. "Maybe." She then looked down, frowning as she whispered, "But this one doesn't have to… We could… I could get an abortion…"

"What?" He took a step back, eyes burning with so many different emotions that Lucy had to look away, not being able to face him.

"I… I can't have this baby, Natsu. I can't be a mother, not now. I just… I just can't do this. I'm sorry." The tears didn't seem to stop coming as she looked down, too shameful to look at Natsu. "This baby… it's better if…"

"No." Natsu voiced in a deep and harsh tone. "Our mistake… It's not his fault. The kid doesn't have any fault in this. So he shouldn't pay for any of it. And less with his life, Lucy."

Lucy looked up at him, her tears almost blinding her. "He?" She whispered and Natsu smiled down at the floor.

"Yeah. I suddenly got this feeling it's gonna be a boy. Guess your weirdness is contagious." He grinned a toothy smile at her and she just about lost it. He pulled her towards him, arms wrapping tightly around her as she sobbed into his chest.

And as they stood there, in the middle of the hall, Lucy couldn't help enjoy the feeling of Natsu's arms around her. It just… felt right. He was… warm. She felt safe and suddenly, she got the strange sense, that maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to do this, if Natsu was by her side.

So when he stepped back and cleaned her tears away, Lucy whispered, "I guess nine months of a hangover doesn't sound so bad, not anymore, at least."

And when he sent that toothy grin of his her way, her heart fluttered and her cheeks flushed. Maybe crazy wasn't so bad? And this idiot...well, he was starting to grow on her. In a strange and very new way. But she had nine months to figure it out, so, there really wasn't much of a rush, now, was there?

* * *

 **Author's Note: I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you thought, I would greatly appreciate it! Your reviews are what encourage me to continue this story. I just can't thank you all enough for favoriting, following and reviewing the first chapter!**

 **This chapter was longer than I had originally planned for, eight thousand words! Lol. Do you all prefer the longer chapters?**

 **If you have any suggestions for this story, please let me know of them! As of right now, I only have the ending planned, everything else is a huge mystery, kind of haha.**

 **I'm so excited to continue this story and I hope you all are to!**

 **Can any of you guess what's next for Natsu and Lucy? ;)**

 **Until next time!**

 **~Blue~**


	3. The Crazy Suggestion

**Author's Note:**

 **Hey everyone!**

 **Wow, I can't believe this story already has more than 100 followers! I am just so thrilled with all the support I've been getting for this story so far! I really can't thank all of you that have followed, favorited, and reviewed this story enough. Your support really means so much to me. So THANK YOU!**

 **A big thanks to , bloodyrayne766, Luna Dragnoir, cookie panda-roo, misssbehavin, ZodiacBirdy, Nurul juwairiyah, sarara1.8, TigerArrowgirl, BloodRedRubies, katiekat2001, sidjr100, sonikastalker, DaeImagines, Guest, MystpopGIRL, Guest (2), Bookwriter16, fairyfan8, cutielove077, CrystalDrago, Gh0st's buddy, FairyDancerHeartfilia, Lindeee, Xtremefairy, Gerrie Dragneel, Xo Chicken Toes, and Guest (3) for reviewing the last chapter! I love reading all the feedback and I am so glad you are all enjoying the story as much as I am enjoying writing it :)**

* * *

 **Nine Months of Crazy**

 **Chapter 3: The Crazy Suggestion**

If this was a cartoon, Lucy would have physically been able to see the wheels spinning rapidly in his mind. His head had been spinning from the moment she had appeared before him, standing there in front of him when the elevator's doors opened.

Natsu hadn't expected to see her again- and no less- so soon.

The morning after Gray and Juvia's wedding, he'd woken up to find the blonde girl gone, leaving without any trace of ever really being there. And at first, he'd wondered whether or not he'd actually gotten her to come along with him to his- and Cana's- apartment. Because, it wasn't something he usually did. Actually, he'd never done anything like that before. Though, he had come close to in one or two college parties but made the right decision at the last second, realizing that they were both drunk and about to make a mistake.

And he had tried to stop it this time around as well. But he hadn't been able to, because she hadn't wanted to and neither did him. There was just something about her… that made her different from the rest.

In his twenty three years, Natsu Dragneel had only had one 'long' term relationship (it only lasted two months, _sigh._ Oh, and that was back when he was fifteen, and yes, cue another - _long_ -sigh).

He wasn't ashamed to admit this to anyone, no, not at all. Because he had loved this girl more than anything else in the world. She had saved him from all the darkness that had surrounded his life at such a young age, reaching out to him and giving him a reason to continue on. But… when she left him, he decided to not give love another chance… because he would never find someone like her… He just couldn't betray her like that… He couldn't fall in love with anyone else. He just couldn't.

So, all throughout his college life, he avoided long term relationships like the plague. Whenever they'd start getting too close, or date for more than a month, he'd break up with the girl, in fear of actually getting feelings for her. His relationships had been short and never involved feelings, at least not from his side. And that's how he'd planned to keep it.

Yet, that blonde girl had caught his attention from the moment her chocolate colored eyes locked on his.

At first, he'd only made his way towards her after Gray had been caught staring at her ass by Juvia- the idiot!- wanting to see her ass for himself. Because, well if the groom got caught staring by the bride, then the rear should have been worth it! And it had been, there was just no denying it (Natsu, a pervert? Yes, most definitely).

But, it had been her eyes, that he hadn't been able to get out of his mind.

And how could he forget to mention that she was one of the most beautiful girls that had ever crossed his path. Just, everything about her seemed too perfect. She was definitely the type of girl that was way out of his league. However, Lisanna had also been way out of his league… and yet, she'd still gone out with him.

His heart ached at the thought of his childhood best friend and high school sweetheart and he decided to forget about the blonde, because she reminded him of _her_.

But as the night went on, he just couldn't help looking her way. She was weird (in a Lucy kind of way) and he enjoyed how easily he got under her skin, her voice squeaking in a cute way every time she'd yell at him, calling him an 'idiot' every chance she got (which was always, the girl just couldn't call him Natsu, now could she?).

So he walked up to her again. He wanted to get that reaction again. Because messing with her was really fun (at least, it was for him).

And then, to his utter shock, she had asked _him_ if he wanted to make out with _her_. Hell, he'd be an idiot if he'd said he didn't! But… she was drunk, really drunk. And so was he. But then she'd kissed him! And he wasn't able to stop after that, not even when he knew he was doing something that sober Natsu would think twice before doing. Or maybe something he'd just overthink so much that the girl asking would have the time to realize that she was asking _him_ out of all the other guys in the room. Which would then lead the girl to turn to Gray and ask him instead. And a very pissed off Natsu would then start a fight with the stupid ice cream obsessed jerk. Because he was _obviously_ the better looking one out of the two! And no one could ever convince him otherwise! (Cue the chest puff and over exaggerated self confidence).

Lucy's lips had been so soft and very addicting. He just couldn't get enough of her. He could taste the alcohol on her lips and his tongue delved in deeper, wanting so much more. He wanted her…

It was after Lucy threw his suit jacket to the other side of the room and her dress had ridden up and bunched between them that Natsu began to wonder if he should stop them before they made something that'd make her regret it in the morning. But then she'd whispered his name and all rational thoughts had flown out the window. His entire body shivered when she spoke his name, her small body panting under him as her bright, chocolate colored eyes caught his, making his heart beat so fast he'd feared it'd jump right out of his chest.

However, he'd done the right thing anyway. Because, though most people wouldn't believe it (those jerks), he was a gentleman. So, he had (very reluctantly, of course) pulled his lips from hers and asked her if she wanted him to stop (though he'd silently been praying that she didn't).

If she didn't want to continue, he'd definitely stop, drive her home, and then head back to his apartment to take a very cold shower (wouldn't be easy or what he'd want, but fuck it, he'd do it!).

She said she didn't, though. She didn't want him to stop (and he'd almost cheered out loud, but he didn't, of course. Didn't want to leave a bad impression, not so soon, at least).

She'd made it very clear when she instantly pressed her lips on his after saying this to him. Damn it, and he couldn't have been more relieved, because he would've really hated himself if she ever regretted being with him.

He didn't regret his night with her. Not at all. Not even a little bit.

Their night together, well, he could only describe it with one word: phenomenal. It had been great, better than great. It just…. Well, he wasn't the best with words but it had been phenomenal, that was for sure.

And when she told him she was pregnant, something inside of him had shattered. Maybe it had been disappointment, because he liked her. Yeah, he liked her. And though his friends thought otherwise, he wasn't dense, not even a little bit (well, at least he wasn't _anymore._ He'd matured! Damn it, he wasn't fifteen anymore!).

He liked her weirdness and the way she'd get all red when he called her out on being weird. Or the way she'd blush this pretty pink color every time he'd grin at her. She… was nice. In a weird way. And he really wanted to get to know her better. That's why he'd d been so disappointed when he'd woken up to find that she wasn't there anymore. He'd thought that, maybe, just maybe, they could continue on from that night without much awkwardness and maybe become friends and maybe later, something more…

So, when she told him she was pregnant, that hope had just about banished. Because she was pregnant, and maybe from some other guy? Or… No. There was just no way! He'd used a condom… right?! Fuck. He couldn't remember.

And when she slapped him, and frowned, her eyes glossing with unshed tears, Natsu realized- in the back of his mind- that he had really fucked up. Yeah, the awkward stage would probably take them a while to get through… Because she was pregnant, with his child.

When she spoke those words, Natsu's world just about stopped. He was going to… be a father?

"Crazy, huh?" He'd heard Lucy mutter, but he was way too lost in his own thoughts to answer her (which, if he had, it would've been a definite yes!).

He had been frustrated with himself, with the world, with just about everything! He really was an idiot. Why the hell had he made such a fucking stupid mistake?! Damn it! Damn it! And damn it again!

It was after Lucy left, of course, not without first yelling at him, "You should fucking listen to Cana next time and wear a fucking condom!" which had Natsu sweat dropping and making a mental note to kill Cana for opening her stupid mouth! Fuck her and her loose tongue! Subtle? No, she was far from it! He really wanted to just crawl down a hole in embarrassment. He could already imagine how many- and what- things she'd told Lucy. He'd definitely get revenge, definitely!

I was then that he realized that though he wasn't at all ready for what life had in store for him (in the next months, just how much would his fucking life change? The fuck if he knew!) he still gathered all the courage he could and ran after Lucy. He ran as fast as he could down the staircases, ignoring the yells and reprimands he was getting from his neighbors as they made side comments of, "Well, what is this idiot boy up to now?" or "Can he not go one day without getting himself involved in some kind of ruckus?"

Yeah, he had only lived here for the past two weeks, and already, he didn't have much of a 'good' reputation around the complex. Not something to be proud of, really.

He had been so relieved when he found her standing in front of the elevators in the first floor. He'd made it just in time and he started to smile, but stopped himself. His world stopped when he noticed the tears running down her cheeks and his heart dropped as he stood there, just watching her cry.

He felt guilty, very guilty. He didn't want her to cry. He hated when people cried. And strangely enough, it was even worse when Lucy cried.

He'd made his mind when he'd been running after her, he'd take responsibility. He would be there with her, through each and every step of the way. He might not be the most responsible or the brightest guy out there, but damn it if he wouldn't try being the darn best father for their child! He wouldn't run away, he never would. And less… on Lucy. Because right now, she was going to need someone to stand beside her through all of this, and he was going to make himself worthy of being able to stand next to her.

But then, she had suggested something so… ludicrous, completely horrific and not needed. And he just couldn't let her make _another_ mistake. Because their mistakes, weren't in any way, also their child's. The kid had no fault and should not pay for any of it. _He_ should not pay with his life. Natsu's heart skipped a beat at that thought. He, huh? A boy. He grinned as he suddenly got this weird feeling that they'd be having a boy.

Lucy seemed to understand this after he voiced his thoughts and he couldn't have been more relieved, grinning widely down at the blonde. But that grin just about fell when she started crying again. So (because he's Natsu and doesn't know much about women and how to comfort them when they're crying- or screaming and hitting everything that crosses their peripheral vision, _cough_ , Erza, _cough_ ), he let his shaky arm slide around her shoulders and pulled her into him, sighing with relief when she leaned her head against his chest and closed her eyes (instead of hitting him and yelling for doing the wrong thing, like he'd expected).

His grip got tighter with each choked sob that came from her mouth. He couldn't stand seeing her cry. He just couldn't. He hated it. And more so because it was him who had caused these tears. Yeah, he knew that they were both at fault. But… he couldn't help feeling guilty. Like it was only his fault. He'd caused these tears...

Pulling her tightly to his chest, Natsu promised himself to try his hardest to keep her from crying like this ever again. Because he never wanted to see those tears of sorrow again.

As they stood there, in the middle of the hall, in each other's arms, Natsu couldn't help mesmerize the way she fit in his arms, the way the soft weight of her head leaned into his broad chest. She was so small wrapped up in his arms, so fragile.

Reaching out to her, he touched a clump of the hair covering her face, touched her cheek and wiped away her tears with the back of his hand. He lifted her head up then, staring down into her big, brown eyes, a single tear sliding down her left cheek as she whispered, "I guess nine months of a hangover doesn't sound so bad, not anymore, at least."

And he grinned down at her and leaned in. He didn't kiss her though (although he was dying to. Because, well, he was a man and she had incredibly soft lips and damn it! He needed to get a hold of himself before he did something stupid!). He only rested his forehead against hers. Her eyes widened as they locked on his and he whispered back, "Yeah, nine months of idiot me hanging out with a weird blonde doesn't sound bad at all." And she rolled her eyes and pushed him back when he snickered a little.

"Hey! I'm just trying to lighten the mood! But really, you're probably really excited to spend so much time with sexy me! I mean, I would be if I were you. Just saying." He smiled as he listened to her laugh, flipping him off as she muttered in between laughs, "Yeah, keep telling yourself that, pinky!"

Natsu ignored her words (Pink? It's salmon!) because she had an incredible laugh that lightened her entire face, making his heart beat faster. And at that moment, he questioned himself for being so persistent on pissing her off when he could instead make her laugh and get her to look like she was at that very moment. Because she was… beautiful, perfect, amazing… damn it! Was she fucking shining?! Natsu blinked his eyes and then mentally groaned. Yeah, he was going crazy, because, fuck, there was no way he was actually having these stupid thoughts! He couldn't get this attached to her, and no less, so soon!

Lucy shifted underneath his rather unfaltering stare. "What?" She finally asked.

He blinked his eyes down at her, caught off guard, and he cleared his throat as he rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head slightly. "Sorry. I, uh, I'm just glad that…" He bit his lower lip, being completely out of character as he stared at everything but at Lucy, completely tongue tied as she raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm glad that you seem… that you seem better… about this whole situation."

Lucy sighed and shrugged. "Better, huh?" She rolled her eyes and rubbed her shoulder. "I wouldn't exactly say better. Just, uh, not as bad." She smiled down at her shoes and muttered, "Thanks." She glanced up at him, her cheeks flushing when his wide eyes caught hers, and she quickly looked away. "Thank you, Natsu." Glancing up at him, she finally saw the confused look on his face and she rolled her eyes and smiled as she clarified, "For being so supportive, and taking responsibility. I, uh, I'm freaking out, you know. So, you not running away from this… it really takes some weight off my shoulders. I was really scared about telling you. But I knew it was the right thing to do. You deserved to know. And I'm glad I told you." Natsu's eyes widened even more when her cheeks flushed and she continued in a faint whisper, "And also, thanks for cheering me up. I really needed someone to knock some sense into me, huh?"

He furrowed his eyebrows as he continued to stare at her, still not being able to come up with anything to say. She glanced up at him again, as if expecting him to say something. And that seemed to get him out of whatever trance he was in. "Uh, y-yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck, cursing the way his voice broke when he'd spoken. Lucy only rolled her eyes at him, muttering that she really needed to go home and get some much needed sleep.

He watched her get on her car and drive off, the blonde smiling at him as she turned the corner and drove out of the parking lot. Natsu's grin slowly disappeared as he leaned back on the wall beside the elevators and slid down to the floor. Everything had changed in a blink of an eye. And though he had tried to play the cool and collected kind of role in front of Lucy (copying Gray much?) he had been freaking out inside. Just what the hell was he going to do?!

Leaning his elbow on his leg, Natsu's chin went to his palm, staring blankly at the parking lot. His white scarf moved with the gentle breeze and Natsu sighed. Their lives were about to change in so many ways with this… But… Was he really ready for this?

Head falling into his hands, Natsu closed his eyes. One thought kept repeating in his head. And that was… What would Igneel think… of this if he were here? Natsu chuckled after a second. He'd probably tell him to grow a pair and deal with it. Take responsibility for his actions without a second thought. To confront this head on and never look back. To be strong… And to not beat himself up about it. We all make mistakes, after all.

Natsu's fingers went into his pink hair, tugging at it as he clenched his hands into fists. He wanted to keep the baby. He wanted to take responsibility. He wanted to be there for Lucy. He wanted to… do the right thing. He knew that much. Chuckling to himself, Natsu realized that being a dad didn't sound so bad. Maybe it wasn't how or when he'd expected it to happen, but he still got the feeling that it'd be one of the craziest (for sure) and best adventures he'd ever go on. And more so if Lucy was there. His cheeks flushed with color and he shook his head. No, right now, he'd need to put those thoughts in the back of his head. For now, the baby would be his number one priority. He, after all, had quite the time to figure out the rest.

So, he got up and stretched his arms above his head, stretching the muscles in his back. He'd made up his mind, and there was no way he'd ever change it. He was going to do this, he was going to have a baby… with Lucy.

But when he walked into his apartment, eyes bright with new found determination, he regretted ever choosing to share an apartment with Cana of all people. The deathly aura coming out of her made a shiver run down his back and he gulped audibly when her mouth opened and the tantrum began. Blocking her annoying voice out of his head, he placed his hands over his ears and walked into his room, shutting it and sighing deeply. He could still hear her stomping around the living room, yelling profanity out into the empty room, but he ignored her. She'd get tired of it in no time, right?

Well, it was well past ten o'clock at night that Natsu was laying in bed, head still spinning with different scenarios of what would happen to him and Lucy in the next nine months and ears ringing with Cana's reprimands and insults.

"You're such an idiot! I mean, you fucking knocked up a girl you barely even know! You big idiot! Did you just not understand the importance of a condom in all of our lessons?! It's simple enough, just fucking wear one, always!" And then she continued on and on about how he knew nothing about condoms and how she was going to go out and buy him a box so big of them that would remind him every morning to put one on before sticking it in any hole (Could she be any more crude?!). And Natsu took his pillow, covered his face with it, and groaned. Right now, he'd rather live with Gajeel (yeah, fucking Gajeel!) than have to put up with Cana!

And then, someone knocked on their front door, and Natsu had never been happier to hear Bacchus's voice. He'd asked what had gotten her so riled up, as Cana had answered the door with a "What?!" and the brunette had muttered that she'd tell him on their way to his car.

"Let's go to your place instead!" She yelled and Natsu could just imagine her pulling her boyfriend out the door, the poor guy probably confused out of his mind.

Sighing as he stared at his ceiling, Natsu slowly sat up in his bed and looked out his window. It was dark outside, the moon shining brightly in the night sky.

Making up his mind, Natsu stood up and went to get a jacket he'd tossed on a chair the night before. He needed to get out of there, before Cana got back and gave him yet another headache. He needed to think. To breathe. To clear his mind and have a drink.

Stepping out of his apartment, Natsu took a deep breath as he stood in the hallway, closing the door behind him and leaning back on it. His ears were ringing with the silence. Apparently, they had become accustomed to Cana's yells for the past two hours. He rolled his eyes. He loved her (like an older sister) but sometimes she was a little (a _little_?) intense.

Pushing himself off the door, Natsu walked down the flights of stairs, his mind ringing with so many thoughts as he walked out of the building. He wasn't even paying attention to where he was walking but his feet seemed to have decided on a destination and his brain didn't argue.

When he came to stand in front of the familiar sign of the Fairy Tail Bar, he didn't stop. He pulled open the door and stepped into the warm bar. It was just as crowded and rowdy as it was any other night. A few people greeted him with big smiles and small talk. He gave them a small, and very out of character smile, nodding at their words without really knowing what they were saying. He noticed a few people playing pool, others were sitting at the round tables placed in the middle of the bar talking and laughing, sharing pitchers, some pop song was blaring over the jukebox and ESPN was muted on the several televisions bolted from the ceiling, with some guys discussing the game.

Natsu looked around and his eyes settled on a familiar hunched figure sitting at the bar. He chuckled when he noticed his long haired friend grumble something before he took a drink from his mug of beer.

Taking the empty stool next to his, Natsu signaled to the bartender and ordered a beer for himself, the bartender then going off to fill a frothy mug from the tap.

Gajeel turned in his seat, pierced eyebrows raising in question. Natsu stared back and furrowed his eyebrows, about to insult his idiot looking friend for just staring at him when Gajeel sighed loudly and muttered, "I have to see you everyday at the station, and now I also have to see you on my days off? Can't a guy have a break from obnoxious, pink haired, hard headed idiots for a day?"

Natsu flipped him off, coming up with a list of insults to throw at the piercing freak but was interrupted by the bartender when he placed his mug in front of him, so instead he decided to just ignore Gajeel's insults and picked up his mug to take a much needed drink.

Looking straight ahead at the rows of hard liquor bottles behind the bar counter, Natsu muttered, "Remember about that blonde girl I told you about?" Gajeel looked at the pink haired idiot closely, pierced eyebrows furrowing when Natsu turned to look at him, continuing by saying, "The one I met at Gray's wedding."

Rolling his eyes, Gajeel picked up his mug and took a drink before he answered, "The one that was way out of your league?" Natsu glared at him and Gajeel grinned widely. "Yeah, I remember. What about her?" He then grunted, scrunching his nose up as he muttered, "Did you have another wet dream? 'Cause God, I sure as hell don't want to hear about that, _again_."

Natsu blushed madly in embarrassment, stuttering, "I-I, w-what, t-that's n-not… Would you just shut the fuck up, piercing freak!"

Gajeel bursted out laughing and Natsu groaned. "Can't believe I was actually about to tell you…"

Pierced eyebrows raising in question, Gajeel cleared his throat before he busted out in laughter again, and then asked, "Tell me what?"

Sighing, Natsu looked down at the smooth wooden surface of the bar counter, the mug of beer leaving a ring of condensation that he was now wiping with his finger. "She, well, she, uh Lucy, she came looking for me today, to my apartment."

Gajeel's eyes widened with disbelief. "The fuck?! _She_ came looking for _you_?! Is she blind? She's gotta be… There must be something wrong with her." He nodded at his own words and Natsu glared at him when he continued, "Yeah, that's the only explanation."

Hands curling into fists over the bar counter, Natsu glowered in Gajeel's direction, "Yeah, maybe she has the same thing Levy does?"

Red eyes angrily glared at the loud idiot sitting next to him and it was Natsu's turn to burst out in laughter, Gajeel's stare becoming more deadly- if possible- while the stupid peabrain continued to laugh.

Scoffing, Gajeel muttered some curse words under his breath before he turned to look at the grinning idiot and then muttered, "Just tell me whatever the fuck you need to tell me and leave me alone."

Natsu's smile dropped then, staring down at his beer as he muttered, "I, uh, well, I kinda need a favor… Well, actually, I need some words of advice…" He uttered the last part as lowly as he could, not wanting anyone else to hear that he'd just asked _Gajeel_ of all people for advice. Gray would have been the worst option, but Gajeel was the second worst. Damn it, where was Laxus?!

As Natsu looked around the bar, hoping to find the tall, blond owner, Gajeel raised a quizzical brow and smirked mockingly as he said, "Advice, huh? Who would have ever thought that you'd ever ask for advice, from _me_ of all people."

Natsu's face hardened, "It's nothing to gloat on, you know! I'm only asking you 'cause you're the only one who's here!"

Chuckling, Gajeel sat up straight, really intrigued by what Natsu had to tell him. "So, what is it?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Natsu answered, "It's about Lucy…" He then pushed his beer away. His stomach was twisting and he couldn't take another sip of it. "She told me that…" He swallowed audibly. "She's pregnant."

Gajeel choked on his beer, coughing loudly. "Wait… What?! Bunny girl's pregnant?!" Natsu nodded, his throat suddenly feeling very dry and he reached for his mug of beer and knocked his head back and drained it until it was empty.

Mouth falling open in disbelief and eyes wide like saucers, Gajeel muttered, "Please don't tell me that…"

Natsu chuckled lowly, mumbling before Gajeel could finish, "Yeah, _I_ knocked her up. I'm gonna be a dad."

Sighing loudly, Gajeel smacked Natsu over the head, making him yell out, "What the fuck?!"

Gajeel shook his head, his eyes narrowing as he said, "I thought Cana gave you fucking lectures about how to wrap it up, idiot! You never listen, do you?"

Natsu sneered at him, "Shut. Up. I know I fucked up."

Taking a sip of his drink, Gajeel returned his gaze to Natsu. "Yeah, you really did." And Natsu glared down at the bar counter. "I mean, damn, you fucking knocked up bunny girl!"

Gajeel shook his head and chugged down his drink while Natsu furrowed his eyebrows. "Why do you even call her that?" He questioned and Gajeel grinned widely.

"'Cause she looks like a bunny. Ain't it obvious enough?" Natsu raised an eyebrow and then scratched his forehead.

"Hmm. You know, now that I think about it, she does kind of resemble a bunny."

Gajeel smirked. "Right! And Levy said I was going crazy, hah!" And if anyone were sitting near these two idiots, they'd surely think they'd gone crazy (which, they weren't far from, really).

The bartender then slid them a new mug of beer and Gajeel lifted his, mumbling, "Well, uh, congrats, I guess? You're gonna make a terrible father."

Flipping him off, Natsu lifted his mug and clacked it against Gajeel's. "Fuck you."

And they both grinned at each other before they took a chug, sighing after setting them back down on the counter.

Scratching the back of his head, Gajeel asked, "So, what are you going to do?"

Natsu physically stiffened next to him. "I'm going to take responsibility, of course. I'm going to do anything I can for Lucy and my kid."

Gajeel stared at him for a good minute before he broke out laughing. "Yeah, sure, whatever you say."

Natsu grumbled some incoherent curse words before he yelled, "I mean it, you damn fucker!"

Snorting, Gajeel took another sip of his beer. "Yeah, I believe you." Natsu sat up straight, hands fisted as he glared at the piercing freak.

Shaking his head, Gajeel then muttered, "Poor bunny girl. I kinda feel bad for her. I mean, she's carrying _your_ child after all. Whatever she did in her past life must have been terrible to have been punished like this." And he bursted out laughing when Natsu took a swing at his head, but Gajeel avoided it with ease, grinning widely at Natsu's angry face.

"No need to get your panties on a twist, lover boy. I'm just stating the facts here. Life's a bitch, ain't it?"

An annoyed twitch started in Natsu's eye, fingers itching to curl back up into fists and punch that bastard's stupid grin off his face. And he would have done it-he had been dying to get out all his pent up frustration on someone after all- if it weren't for an over dramatic wail that'd caught their attention.

A few stools down from where they were sitting, a crying Hibiki- which worked with the two of them at the fire station- was leaning against a sweat dropping Erza- a childhood friend of Natsu's that he referred to as the "Scarlet Monster" for good reasons, of course.

She patted his head in an awkward motion. Scary? Of course. Frightening? Without a doubt. Crazy? Did anyone really have to ask? But comforting? Oh no, she was far from that. She wasn't even gentle! They all felt pretty sorry for Jellal… That guy was going to heaven, for sure!

Natsu and Gajeel sweat dropped at the scene. Erza was currently patting Hibiki's head some more (Did she think he was a dog?!) and saying, "There, there." (Yeah, apparently, she did!).

She then handed him a napkin and Hibiki took it, sniffing as he tried to thank her, and Erza rolled her eyes and instructed him to blow his nose before all that sniffing of his drove her into madness (far from it she really wasn't).

Exchanging a look, Natsu and Gajeel silently agreed on making a swift escape before the 'Titania' noticed either of them. And it would have worked out, if stupid Laxus hadn't decided to show up just then! (Yeah, now he decides to make a fucking appearance!).

"Hey you two!" He called from behind the bar, waving at the two, who now looked like deers caught on headlights (Comically? Of course. Unfortunate? Well, yeah, for them.). "Watcha two doing here? You don't have work tomorrow?"

Gajeel groaned and shook his head. "But for once, I wish I did." He muttered and Natsu silently agreed with him.

Erza was looking at them now, eyebrows furrowed as she asked, "You two came here, _together_?"

They shook their heads furiously.

"The hell woman! Why would I want to hang out with this idiot?! I have enough of him at the firehouse, believe me, I do not wish to see his stupid face more than I have to."

"Hey! The feeling's mutual, piercing freak!"

Erza cleared her throat then and they both swallowed audibly as a shiver ran down their backs. "Actually, we did come together, 'cause you know, we're great friends!" They yelled in unison, grinning back at each other though they were silently cursing the day Levy introduced them.

Sighing, Erza shook her head. "You're terrible liars."

They sweat dropped and Erza rolled her eyes at them. "But I honestly don't care. I just want you two to get this idiot off of me."

Natsu and Gajeel turned to look at the wailing mess that was Hibiki Lates, both of them giving him a look before Natsu snickered and Gajeel scrunched his nose up as he muttered, "The fuck's up with you _now,_ idiot number two? Stop being a pussy and get off of Erza!"

Hibiki only let out another loud wail in response. Erza sighed loudly and then mumbled, "You'll be fine, Hibiki. You can have any girl you want. I mean, how many of the girls in just this bar right now have you already slept with?" She tried to comfort him but his wails did not cease, and Laxus exchanged a look with the two sweat dropping idiots, nodding when they raised questioning eyebrows at him. Yeah, the idiot had been dumped.

Sobbing, Hibiki rubbed his eyes and blowed his nose once more. "But, but," he wailed. "I don't want any of those girls. I just, I just want, I just want J-Jenny!" And the mere mention of her name made him dissolve into a fresh round of tears and Erza groaned. Was their friend emotional? Uh, yeah, very. Natsu would even dare to say that he was just, or even more, emotional than most girls he knew. And that was saying a lot, because he knew Juvia. And that woman had her own category when it came to emotional.

Rolling his eyes, Laxus finally spoke, "She's a bitch. Just forget about her, man. You know, Mira has this friend, she's single you know. She's hot. Totally your type. I mean, she's pretty into herself, like you are." (Was he know playing matchmaker, _too_? Mira had _really_ rubbed off on him).

Hibiki sniffed and finally sat straight in his seat, Erza sighing in content and stretching her arms up over her head before she chugged down her drink.

"B-but… She… She's not Jenny!" And he was about to curl up against Erza again but she pushed him back this time around.

"For the love of God, just stop being such a drama queen!" She yelled and Natsu sweat dropped, Laxus sighed, and Gajeel grinned, extremely amused by this all. "You and Jenny only went out for a month!" Hibiki opened his mouth, about to comment on that but Erza raised a finger to silence him. "And don't even try to deny that you actually didn't know this was coming! 'Cause even _Natsu_ saw this coming!"

"Hey!"

Erza ignored the offended fool and instead watched the crying idiot sniff again and mumble, "Yeah, I kinda did… B-but it's still hard! I've never been dumped!" And they lost him again.

"Well, this makes sense now." Gajeel muttered and Natsu nodded.

"This is the worst day of my life!" Hibiki wailed and Erza rolled her eyes and patted his back as she muttered, "Yeah, yeah. We know. The _entire_ bar knows."

Gajeel snorted at that, and they all turned to look at him. "Oh, shut up. If anyone's having a bad day is this idiot." He pointed his thumb at Natsu- whose eyes widened as soon as all their eyes landed on him. "I mean, he just found out he's gonna have a kid. He should be the one crying, really." And Natsu felt like someone had just dropped a bucket of ice over him as Laxus coughed out his drink, Hibiki stopped crying, and Erza's mouth fell open, stuttering a, "W-what? Y-You, oh my God."

Natsu turned around and slammed his fist on Gajeel's shoulder, making the taller guy hiss. "Hey! What the hell?! What's that for?"

"For opening your damn mouth! I wasn't going to tell them just yet, you fucker!"

"Well you never told me it was a secret!"

"So, this is not a joke?" Hibiki suddenly questioned, eyes widening as he turned to look at Natsu and then frowned. "Wow, you really screwed up this time."

Laxus rubbed the back of his neck and sighed loudly, muttering, "I'm going to need a stronger drink." And turned around and left to get himself that drink.

Erza continued to stare at him without saying anything and Natsu turned his head, staring straight ahead at the rows of liquor.

"Didn't… Didn't Cana tell you to always wear a condom when you're with a girl?" She suddenly questioned eyes still wide as she stared at the back of his head.

The question- or more so the fact that it was Erza of all people asking it- made Natsu's head jerk around to look at her. Damn it, did that drunk really have to go around telling everyone about _that_?!

He only nodded and Erza sighed loudly. "So why didn't you wear one?" She wasn't yelling, no, she was talking to him like this was an everyday conversation- which it wasn't! And Natsu looked down in embarrassment and annoyance when he heard Gajeel and Hibiki snicker.

Cheeks and ears burning, Natsu blurted out, "Well, have you ever had sex without a condom? It feels amazing to ride bareback, you know!" And everyone's face fell, the color draining from Erza's face as she stared wide eyed at Natsu.

Eyebrows twitching, Erza muttered, "No, I do not know." She cracked her fingers then and Natsu cursed his stupid mouth. Why did he have to say the wrong thing at the wrong time All. The. Fucking. Time?! "You do know that I'm not a man, right?"

Swallowing hard, Natsu shrugged and Gajeel bursted out laughing. "Well…" And a vein popped in her forehead as he blurted, "I just, well, since we all know you're the one that wears the pants in your relationship, I just assumed you'd understand!"

And Hibiki fell from his stool, clutching his stomach as he broke into a fit of laughter.

"I'd run if I were you." Gajeel suddenly coughed out between laughs and Natsu didn't think about it twice. He was running out of that bar as fast as his legs allowed him to.

"You are so dead, Natsu Dragneel!" The temperamental woman was yelling after him and he just wanted to stop and slam his head on a wall for ever opening his stupid mouth.

* * *

"Man, you really fucked up yesterday." Hibiki muttered from the driver's seat of his car, glancing back at his frowning, pink haired friend who was sporting a black eye that ranged from deep black, to yellow, and all shades of purple and in between- courtesy of the 'Titania'.

Gajeel snickered from the passenger's seat. "That's what he gets for being such an idiot. I mean, we all think those things, but none of us are stupid enough to tell them to _her_. Gotta hand it to you this time, though. You've got guts, idiot. Either that or you're just that stupid."

Hibiki smirked. "I'm pretty sure he's just stupid."

And they broke out laughing, making Natsu's frown deepen. "Can you two tell me again why I've gotta come along? I'm sure you're both perfectly capable of delivering the department's file reports without me." He huffed.

Smirking, Gajeel answered, "Yeah, but we really wanted to see how messed up Titania had left you." He bumped fists with a snickering Hibiki and Natsu flipped them off.

Ignoring their mocking words and grinning faces, Natsu looked out the window for the entire ride to the town office, cursing himself for ever agreeing to come along and at stupid Minerva for sending them on their day off to do _her_ job. And curse the poor, innocent and very stupid guy that asked her out on a date!

After parking the car, Gajeel and Hibiki argued on whether or not they should all go and turn in the reports (both scared out of their minds to do something stupid and get yelled at by Minerva, God knew no one wanted that, and they all shivered at the thought) and Gajeel ended up muttering that he'd just go by himself.

So that's how Natsu and Hibiki found themselves stuck and bored out of their minds, in Hibiki's car. Natsu grumbled a few incoherent words, and then muttered, "Again, why the hell did I have to come along?"

Hibiki waved a hand in dismissal, mumbling, "Do you see any cute girls?" He was staring out the window, humming to a song playing on the radio as he searched 'for the love of his life' among every unfortunate girl that so happened to to walk out of the office and pass the car. Natsu rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes as he sighed loudly. He really shouldn't be complaining much. These two idiots had saved him from getting _another_ earful from Cana that morning, after she'd arrived from spending the night with Bacchus.

Sleep was just about taking him when Hibiki squeaked (yes, fucking squeaked. Was he a girl?!) in excitement and turned the volume up on the radio as "Closer" by the Chainsmokers came on. "This is my jam!"

Natsu scrunched up his nose. "The fuck, man?" But Hibiki was too lost singing along to the lyrics. "Yeah, all those girls' numbers are gonna come flying your way now." He muttered, words filled with sarcasm but Hibiki still grinned widely and exclaimed, "I know right!" And Natsu covered his face and groaned.

It was after the song was finally over (yes, _finally_ , because that damn womanizer had been jumping and dancing and moving his hands all over the place making Natsu sick) that Hibiki whistled lowly, hands going over his heart dramatically as he stated, "I think I've just found the one! This has to be love at first sight!"

And Natsu rolled his eyes at his overdramatic friend. "Yeah, and I just saw a flying cat! Oh no wait, I didn't! Quit being an idiot, Hibiki."

Hibiki glared at him and then pointed out the window yelling, "I'm serious! Look at her! She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen!"

Raising an eyebrow, Natsu followed Hibiki's finger and his eyes widened and his mouth fell open with disbelief as he stuttered out, "L-Lucy!" And Hibiki's eyebrows scrunched up as Natsu muttered, "What is she doing here?"

He was about to step out of the car and make his way to her when he saw a guy walk out right after her, smiling down at her as he took her bag and carried it for her, Lucy smiling politely as she thanked him. Natsu's heart just about fucking stopped as he watched them. She rubbed the back of her arm as he opened the door to his car for her, the four eyed bastard smirking as he told her something that made her cheeks flame with color and his hands unconsciously curled up into fists. Who was that suited up idiot?! And why was he getting so worked up about it?!

Hibiki sighed loudly then, making Natsu's scowling gaze fall on him. Leaning back on his seat, he muttered, "Damn it, she's taken. Do you think she'll reconsider if I ask for her number? I mean, who fucking wears those kinds of shades now a days? That's like so last year! And I'm way hotter, but that's a fucking given."

Gajeel had gotten back on the car just then, eyebrows raised and nose scrunched up as he muttered, "Settle down Regina George. You really don't need to add another poor soul to your burn book." And he bursted out laughing while Hibiki sputtered his denial of having ever made such a thing (but he had, they'd all seen it, and he'd even confessed of it once when he was drunk).

Staring blankly at the car parked a few spots away from theirs, Natsu watched the car turn on and start driving away, muttering, "Hibiki, you've got to follow that car."

Gajeel furrowed his eyebrows while Hibiki grinned widely. "You really think she'll take me instead?!"

Natsu shook his head and made a face as he answered, "No! Of course not! That's Lucy! The girl I met at Gray's wedding! The one who's carrying my child!"

And Hibiki's eyes widened and mouth falling open as he exclaimed, "How the hell did you get a girl like _her_ to sleep with _you_?!"

Gajeel smirked and answered, "She was drunk."

Nodding, Hibiki muttered, "Oh, well now _that_ makes sense."

And Natsu cursed them both and yelled, "Just follow the fucking car!"

Scrunching his eyebrows, Hibiki stared at Natsu for a second before he sighed and shrugged, "Alright, but I don't think this is a good idea." And Natsu rolled his eyes and ignored both of them as they drove after Lucy and the four eyed bastard.

Natsu knew this was probably not the _best_ idea- asking her about the guy would have been better. Lucy would probably yell at him for just thinking this was a good idea, but he couldn't help it. He needed to know who that guy was and what he was to Lucy. Because… Fuck. He didn't even know. It made his head hurt just by trying to figure it out.

When Hibiki stopped the car, parking at the end of the street as the car they'd been following stopped a few houses down the street - a house Natsu was _very_ familiar with. His eyes widened as he realized that the suited freak had given Lucy a ride to Mira's place.

"He's probably just a coworker." Gajeel suddenly muttered as they all watched the orange haired guy open the door for Lucy, the blonde stepping out of the car and saying something to him.

"That or an ex-boyfriend." Hibiki mumbled, the two quite intrigued as they watched the guy walk Lucy to the door, the two of them exchanging a few words until they finally stopped in front of Mira's front porch. Natsu's heart was beating fast, hands clenching and unclenching as he watched them. God, what was going on with him?!

He'd thought about getting out of the car and stalking towards them more than once as they sat there, just watching them, but shook the thought away every time. He held his breath as he watched the orange haired guy do most of the talking, Lucy only nodding or shrugging at his words. The guy suddenly rubbed the back of his neck as he continued talking and Lucy was shaking her head and pursing her lips together.

Natsu clenched his jaw when he watched the fucker reach out to her, his hand touching her arm. Lucy stared at him wide eyed and she shook her head, stepping back but the guy pulled her into him, his hand reaching up to her cheek, and Natsu's blood was roaring in his ears. Lucy slapped his hand away then and Natsu ignored his friend's yells as he opened the backseat door and stormed towards Lucy and the fucking bastard that just didn't seem to understand that she did not want him.

"Get the fuck away from her!" He yelled as he pushed the fucker away from Lucy and punched him in the jaw, knocking him flat on his back.

Natsu moved in front of her and he heard her stutter out, "N-Natsu! What are you doing here?!"

"Are you alright? Was this fucker forcing himself on you?" He asked instead of answering her question, his brows creasing in worry as he appraised her. Lucy's eyes widened as she stared at him for a few seconds and then she let out a heavy sigh and shook her head. "Loke… Uh, he was just being Loke. Really, you shouldn't… worry…" She raised an eyebrow then as she stared at him and asked, "What happened to you?"

Natsu sighed, knowing that she was talking about the ugly black eye he was sporting. "Well, let's just say I said some pretty stupid things that pissed off a very brute woman." Lucy smirked and shook her head and Natsu couldn't help grin down at her.

"What the fuck?! Who the hell is this dumbass, Lucy?!" The guy suddenly yelled, making them both turn to look at him. Natsu's eyes flashed and he yelled back, "I'm her baby's father! Who the hell are you?!"

Covering her face with her small hands, Lucy groaned loudly as Loke's eyebrows scrunched up. "Oh God, please tell me this fool is joking, Lucy. Is this a prank? Am I being recorded?!" He looked around himself, as if someone really was hidden somewhere around them recording and Natsu rolled his eyes while Lucy groaned again.

"No…" Looking down, Lucy whispered, "He's- sadly- not kidding. I'm pregnant…" She bit her lip and nodded at Loke's unasked question; yes, it was Natsu's- the hot headed idiot that had just punched him.

Bangs covering his eyes, Loke slowly stood up, fixing his suit and tie before he took a deep breath and punched Natsu square in the face.

"Loke! What the hell are you doing?!" Lucy yelled as she pushed him back and away from Natsu.

"Fuck!" Hibiki yelled from the car, they'd been staring at them intently the entire time, Gajeel commenting how all they were missing was some popcorn. He smirked now, "Oh fuck, this just got interesting! And the poor fucker gets punched in the face again!" He ruffled over in laughter.

Hibiki leaned out on the window and yelled at Loke, "If the door wasn't locked I'd go over there and kick your ass, fucker!"

Loke and Lucy raised an eyebrow while Gajeel snorted and said, "Idiot, just admit that you're a fucking pussy and are scared out of your mind to get out of the fucking car and get your ass handed to you. Otherwise you just look like a fucking dumbass, which you already are, but they didn't know that." And Lucy sweat dropped, these were definitely Natsu's friends. Her mother was right… Birds of a feather _really_ do flock together… Those idiots.

Holding onto his jaw, Natsu glared up at Loke. "The fuck was that for, bastard?!"

"For touching _my_ Lucy! And getting her pregnant!" Loke answered and Lucy scoffed.

"Oh, God. I am _not_ yours, Loke!" She was glaring daggers at him now, her arms tightly crossed over her chest as she huffed in indignation.

"Yeah! So get the fuck away from her! Natsu yelled at him, pushing the four eyed fucker back when he tried to step up to Lucy again. "The lady has spoken! She clearly wants nothing to do with you!"

Glaring daggers at him, Loke pushed Natsu back and barked out, "I'm not going anywhere until Lucy hears me out!" He looked down at the blonde, who just wanted to go to bed and eat a gallon of mint ice cream with some dried chili spiced mangos. God, her mouth was watering just at the thought. She was going fucking crazy! Holding the hand of a drooling Lucy, Loke cleared his throat before he told her, "I want to get back together, Lucy. I don't care that you're pregnant. I'll be here for you, I'll always be there for you."

Lucy blinked her eyes at him, completely lost by what he'd just spoken while Natsu's eyes widened in shock, his heart roaring in his chest. An unexpected wave of jealousy overcame him suddenly and he was powerless to fight it. Staring at them, he wondered how she'd met this prick, how long they've been together, if she'd kissed him… how she had kissed him that night… Which then, of course, led to thoughts of every other guy she'd ever kissed before him. Of the guys she'd… been with before him… And yes, he was slowly (the fucking torture!) driving himself crazy.

Sighing loudly, Lucy shook her head, which made Natsu blink down at her- finally ending the torture- as he watched her roll her eyes. "God, you really think I want to get back together with you?" Loke shrugged and Lucy scoffed. "Oh, you wish. But no. Hell no. Go find another girl to swoon with your corny and overused pick up lines. I've finally woken up from whatever trance I'd been while I dated you. I do not wish to go back to that." Turning around she smiled at Natsu, completely ignoring an outraged Loke as she said, "Tell your friends to stop being a pair of noisy freaks and to come out of the 'locked' car. Mira's making her specialty today- lasagna! And she's making it extra spicy just for me!"

She licked her lips and her eyes were practically shining at just the thought of the lasagna and Natsu smirked. "You know, that's my favorite! Mira used to make it for me all the time!"

Lucy giggled at his overexcitement and time seemed to stop for Natsu as he just stared at her.

Loke scoffed then, "God, you're so pathetic." He commented as he stared at him and Natsu's eyes flared as he turned to him.

"What the hell are you still doing here?"

"I can be wherever the hell I want to be!"

And they started throwing punches at each other, curses and insults going back and forth. Lucy sighed loudly and rolled her eyes as she watched Gajeel step out of the car and yell, "You better kick his ass, idiot! If he beats you up I will never let you live it down!"

"Yes! Listen to Gajeel, Natsu! I'd give you a hand but I know you totally got this!" Hibiki yelled from the car and Lucy sweat dropped.

"Don't encourage him, you fools!" She screeched and it was then that Mira finally opened the front door, eyes wide as she appraised the scene before her.

"Oh my!" She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot in indignation. "Do not fight in my front porch! You could get blood on it! Honey, come kick their asses out of my porch!" She yelled and Laxus came out of the house sighing, not even questioning what was going on as he picked up in one arm Natsu and on the other Loke and walked off to who knew where to throw them out.

Lucy sighed loudly, not even caring as she turned around and entered Mira's house, exclaiming, "I smell lasagna!" And her cheeks flushed with pleasure by just the smell of it.

Brandish yelled from the kitchen, "I helped make it! You better say it's the best you've ever had! Now you bitches can't say I'm not wife material!" She grinned widely down at Lucy, her chest puffed out with exaggerated confidence.

Sweat dropping, Lucy muttered to Yukino, who'd been setting up the table, "You tried it, right? It's edible? Please tell me it is, I'm starving."

Giggling, Yukino nodded, "It's- surprisingly- really good!" Glancing at the front door, she then questioned, "What's all the rachus?"

Waving a hand in dismissal, Lucy told her, "Oh just Natsu and Loke fighting."

"The pink haired baby daddy is here?!" Brandish exclaimed as she cleaned her hands on Mira's apron, which she was currently wearing. Lucy nodded as she took out the plates and helped Yukino with the table (because the faster it was ready, the faster she'd get to devour that lasagna!). "Why the hell didn't you tell me?! I want to see how ugly your baby is gonna come out!"

And as she rushed off towards the door, Yukino sweat dropping and muttering, "I worry about her sometimes."

"I do all the time." Lucy shrugged. "But I've realized that none of us are really sane anyways. So, I ignore it." She eyed the smiling girl before her and then questioned, "How do you put with all of us? Really. I mean, you're the only sane one out of all of us after all. I mean, I try to consider myself sane too, compared to them I mean, but then I think, why lie to myself?"

Rolling her eyes, Yukino answered, "It's fun. There's really never a boring day with you all, now is there?"

And Lucy couldn't disagree with her, even when Brandish yelled out by the front door, "You blond brute! Let pinky beat the crap out of that four eyed minion! Hit him in the balls! I know it seems he doesn't have any, but lot's of poor and very unfortunate girls have confirmed to me that he does! Know beat him up or I will!" And Lucy groaned and Yukino sighed.

Turning around, Brandish smirked at Lucy as she said, "He's not terrible looking, that Natsu fool. The pink hair, though…" She eyed the blonde and sighed loudly. "What were you thinking, Lucy? I thought you'd know better." She shook her head and clicked her tongue before she muttered, "Let's just hope it's a girl, God knows we do not need another poor boy with pink hair. Imagine all the bullying at school."

And for once, Lucy couldn't help agree with her friend.

* * *

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Lucy muttered as she took a first aid kit from one of the many cabinets in Mira's bathroom. She'd ordered Natsu to sit down on the toilet seat as she would be disinfecting his ugly black eye that had just gotten worse thanks to Loke. She knew accepting a ride from him after that stupid meeting would bite her in the ass! She sighed and focused at the task at hand.

"Yeah, yeah. You really need to find another insult, you know. That one's getting kind of old." He rolled her eyes and he cried out when she harshly and without warning him (he needed to mentally prepare for this, God damn it!) layed an ice pack on his black eye.

"Don't even complain, you hot headed idiot. This is what you get for getting into a pointless fight with that stupid womanizer." She rolled her eyes as she touched the side of his face with one hand to hold him in place and keep him from moving around to much.

Wincing, Natsu gritted lowly, "It wasn't pointless to me. That fucker was really getting under my skin."

Lucy was looking at him but he avoided her eyes. He would never admit to her why exactly that Loke bastard had gotten him so pissed off… because, well, he kind of didn't know himself. It was too soon to start feeling jealous… They weren't anything after all. And he winced this time for a whole nother reason.

Feeling her fingertips brush his cheek had made him feel goosebumps flush across his skin. She really didn't know how much her touch was affecting him. They were silent for a few minutes, listening to their friends downstairs laughing and yelling at one another as they got into pointless arguments- over the game the guys were currently watching or over whether or not Kylie Jenner's new hair color really suited her.

"Hey Natsu…" Lucy suddenly whispered suddenly and he looked up at her, whispering a, "Yeah?"

She looked away then, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear as she mumbled, "You know, I don't think…" She took a deep breath, biting her lower lip as she looked at everything but at him. "I don't think I'm ready for this…" She finally whispered and Natsu raised an eyebrow and Lucy sighed as she clarified, "To be a… a mom." Natsu could feel her hands shake on his face as she stroke it, his stomach twisting with so many different emotions. "I… I always..." Smiling softly, she rolled her eyes as she stared at the sink and admitted to him, "Whenever I pictured myself pregnant… I always saw myself already married… with someone I loved." She frowned and Natsu looked away, staring blankly at Mira's shower curtains. "I… I just want this baby..." Lucy unconsciously touched her flat belly as she spoke her next words, "I want him or her to grow in a loving family. That's why… I've been thinking that, maybe, adoption will be a better idea."

Natsu looked up at her then, dark, green eyes flashing with so many emotions that made Lucy gulp audibly and look away as she muttered, "I'm only thinking about the baby. What's best for him… or her."

"What's best for _him_ is to stay with us. To stay with his parents. To get to know us. To grow up with his birth parents. Lucy… I don't want to give my kid on adoption. I… I want to raise him myself." He whispered, his shaky hand reaching up to whip away a lone tear that had fallen down her right cheek.

"But… we're not a family, Natsu. Our baby… He or she won't grow up in a family… I don't…" She stopped herself, lost for words and she only shook her head as she looked away from Natsu's gaze.

"He could." Natsu suddenly blurted and Lucy's eyes widened as she looked down at him. Heart roaring in his ears, Natsu took a deep breath before he made up his mind and repeated, "He could, Lucy."

"W-what? B-but…" She was trembling now, cheeks flushing with color at Natsu's next words.

"We could get married, Lucy."

* * *

 **A/N: Well… Like, Love it, Hate it? Leave a review and let me know! Your reviews really encourage me to continue writing this story! You are all just so lovely and I can't thank you all enough for all the positive feedback I've received! And the more reviews I get maybe the faster I'll update? ;)**

 **So can any of you guess what's coming for these two soon to be parents?**

 **This chapter took me a while to update 'cause I'd honestly had huge writer's block- honestly I've had writer's block for every single one of my stories,** _ **sigh**_ **. So if you could leave suggestions, I'd really appreciate them! But as a sorry, I intentionally made this chapter really long- more than ten thousand words!- because I updated A Lot later than I had originally planned.**

 **Well, with that said, I hope you all have a wonderful day, night, week, etc! Thanks for reading and until next chapter!**

 **Love,**

 **Blue**


	4. The Crazy Confession

**Author's Note:**

 **A huge thank you to sidjr100, Guest (1), Guest (2), dumamoja, smile-lifegoeson, meiliani, LovingmyOTP's, Guest (3), -roo, cutielove077, sarara1.8, TheTrinityAngel, sonikastalker, thedeathwidow, MaidenAlice, BloodRedRubies, Gh0st's buddy, Gerrie Dragneel, FairyDancerHeartfilia, Nikole, Guest (4), 4evrDorkly17, NatrumMuriaticum, Julius Night, Jellybeans1135, and Ihartkimchi for reviewing the last chapter!**

 **I cannot express just how grateful I am! You guys really encourage me to continue writing this story! So THANK YOU! Took forever to update, I know. Lets just say that a lot's been going on and I had huge writers block, but I'm back! And I'll try to update this story every two weeks! No promises, but I'll definitely try! 'Cause you're all so awesome!**

* * *

 **Nine Months of Crazy**

 **Chapter 4: The Crazy Confession**

Something flashed in his dark green eyes as they locked on hers and he breathed out, "We could get married, Lucy."

Lucy felt her heart stop in that moment, her breath hitching in her throat. The intensity in his eyes was smoldering, and it only made her body tremble as she continued staring at him, speechless.

The room was suddenly spinning as Lucy took a step back and away from Natsu. What he was suggesting, it was just too crazy! It was sudden, impulsive, unnecessary and extremely random!

They couldn't get married! They… She bit down on her lower lip, hands trembling as she watched Natsu raise an eyebrow as he continued to stare at her. They just couldn't! Because she didn't love him and… he didn't love her.

"Y-you can't be serious." She finally spoke, rubbing her sweating palms on her jeans.

Shrugging, Natsu looked down as he mumbled, "I am. It's the right thing to do."

Sighing loudly, Lucy ran her fingers down her long hair before she spoke, "No, Natsu, it's not." He looked up at her then and she looked away as she muttered, "We already made one mistake. I don't want to make another one."

There was a long silence that followed. An awkward one that made Lucy fidget where she was standing, just steps away from a frowning Natsu. He was looking down, his bangs covering his eyes.

Shifting nervously- why exactly was she nervous, Lucy had no idea- from one foot to another, she finally dared herself to glance in Natsu's direction and she bit down on her lip at the sight of him. Had she hurt his pride? Or… his feelings? She sighed. She didn't know, but she knew she wasn't sorry, that was for sure. What he had suggested was insane. Marriage was out of the question. Keeping the baby was one thing, getting married was just opening another door she wasn't quite yet ready to enter.

He finally looked up then, taking Lucy by surprise and making her take a step back as his dark eyes caught hers, making a shiver run down her back.

She looked down just as he said, "Alright." A wide grin spread across his face and he continued, "Then you're gonna have to let me take you out on a date so I can convince you that it's not gonna be a mistake."

Lucy snapped her head around to look at him, her heart suddenly beating so fast she swore it'd just right out of her chest. "What?" She sputtered her eyes widening just as his grin did. "The hell are you saying, Natsu?! I already told you it's a bad idea! You're not changing my mind and were are not going on a date!"

Stretching his arms, Natsu ignored her rant and when she was finally over, or at least when she stopped to take a breath, he said, "So lunch or dinner? I'm up for both." He was smiling at her and Lucy flushed a deep red, but not from embarrassment, no, from anger. This fool actually thought he was taking her out on a date! When she had clearly already said no!

"We're not going anywhere Natsu." She crossed her arms over her chest and blowed her bangs out of her eyes before she continued, "I have a doctors appointment tomorrow. I'll let you come along since you are the father of our baby. But that's it. No date. No cheesy stuff, no 'let's get to know each other' bulshit and no holding hands and none of that shit. I am going through enough I don't need some-"

She stopped talking as soon as she felt his warm hand catch hers. Her head snapped up to catch him looking intensely down at her. She swallowed audibly, her arms shaking just by the look he was sending her way. It made him look extremely good looking, and it was bothering her. Because this was Natsu and she was not supposed to be attracted to him! No way! There was just no way in hell that she was falling for this fool!

"Then I'll take you out for dinner after your appointment." He told her, that wide perfect grin of his spreading across his face and making her heartbeats thump madly in her chest and ears.

Glancing away from him, Lucy sighed in defeat and mumbled, "You are such a pain in the ass."

Chuckling, Natsu nodded. "Yeah, I honestly don't know anyone that wouldn't agree with that." And she smirked at that, about to make a comment but he stopped her, saying, "And I'm not embarrassed about it."

"Of course you're not." Lucy laughed and rolled her eyes at him.

Looking up at him then, Lucy's breath hitched in her throat as she realized just how close they were standing, much closer than she'd like and that she was comfortable with. Again, this is Natsu and she's not about to fall for him!

Lucy could feel his breath come down on he in warm breaths as he chuckled. She couldn't help staring at him, her chest feeling unusually warm and as cheesily and stupidly as it may sound- at least to her- there was some weird shit going on in her stomach, and not just because there was a life growing in there. Apparently, she was also hosting a pack of fucking butterflies, or maybe a zoo. Should she now sit herself down and write an overused and overplayed love song? Cue the gagging sounds and throw up.

He caught her staring at him then, and he cocked his head slightly to the side in a distractingly charming way. Why the hell was she getting so hot and bothered?! This was Natsu for God's sake! Natsu!

"Lucy?" He whispered, his eyes bearing down on hers with a peculiar intensity that only seemed to add to the stupid butterflies in her stomach.

Swallowing, she then asked, "Yeah?"

Running a hand through his hair, Natsu finally took a step back and away from Lucy, making her let out a breath that she'd apparently been holding.

Letting out a frustrated sigh as if he was struggling to find the right words to say, Natsu paced around Mira's small bathroom before he finally stopped and looked straight at Lucy.

"Natsu-"

She let out a slight gasp then as Natsu suddenly stepped forward, cupping the back of her head in his hands and crashed his lips down on hers. Lucy's eyes widened as soon as she felt his warm lips on hers. Flashbacks of their night together replayed on her head and she felt her face grow hot.

Lucy found herself breathless within a matter of seconds, the intensity behind Natsu's kiss overwhelming her. It had been so sudden, so random, and annoyingly perfect timing all the same. And dare she say it, it was extremely enjoyable. She wasn't going to lie, this pink haired guy new what he was going and she wasn't ashamed to admit that he was quite the good kisser. Best kiss she'd ever had? Count this one she was currently having.

But it didn't last as long as she would have liked. No, within a matter of seconds, it was over. And Lucy was quite the pissed off pregnant girl. Because she wanted those warm lips back on hers. But of course she didn't voice her thoughts. Dignity first girls. Like hell was she ever going to bust up his ego. Hah! He'd get that stupid date before he ever go her to admit she actually enjoyed that kiss!

Natsu pulled back and stared at the flushed blonde looking up at him with wide eyes and hot cheeks, her eyes searching his for answers. There was slight flush to his cheeks, but Lucy ignored it. All she could stare at then were those lips of him that had just been kissing her.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Natsu sheepishly glanced to the side, muttering, "I'm not good at the whole 'putting my emotions into words' shit, but that…" he glanced back at her, a grin slowly forming on his lips as his eyes caught her wide ones, "That's everything, Lucy."

Her mouth fell open, trying to form some kind of response but nothing came out. All she could do was blink up at him in both shock and disbelief. Did he… Was he… No! He was just confused! There was no way he actually thought he was falling for her! Because… if he was, that fool was definitely going to confuse her. And she was already a step away from falling.

Someone fucking throw a rope at her and pull her back up! Because she was not going to fall in love with Natsu Dragneel. She just wasn't.

"I know you'll probably think this is stupid and cheesy and definitely too soon and extremely sudden… But…" he swallowed hard as he glanced at her. "Everything I'm feeling… everything I've been feeling since the day we met. Everything I feel for you, Lucy, all these weird fucking things in my stomach, all of it, all that I can't put into words, that was all in that kiss. That kiss meant everything, Lucy."

Lucy stared up at Natsu breathlessly, an odd tingling sensation still lingering on her lips.

Shaking her head she began to say, "Natsu…"

Chuckling, Natsu muttered, "I know it's crazy, Lucy. But that's how I feel and I sure ass hell am not gonna stop feeling this way just 'cause you think it's too soon."

Swallowing hard, Lucy nodded and looked away, playing with the ends of her shirt as she tried to distract herself. Glancing up at him then, she whispered, "Okay."

Natsu's eyes studied Lucy's for a moment before a grin began to spread across his face. "Okay." Taking her small hand in his much bigger one once again he interlaced their fingers as he promised, "I'm not going anywhere, Lucy. Not until I get you to feel just as glad and happy about all of this as I am. It may not have happened as either of us would have liked, but it did. And I'm happy it did. Because I'm here with you now."

Lucy felt an odd warmth in her chest as she stared into his eyes and all she was able to do was hold his hand tightly.

It was after a couple of seconds of silence that they finally heard the whispers coming from behind the door.

"Oh my God! Did he just confess?!" Mira cheered.

"I'm going to throw up. This is worse than all the stupid romantic fucking crappy movies Mira has made me watch! I legit feel nauseous. Yukino! Bring me a bag before I throw up all over pretty boy's face!" Brandish yelled.

"Hey! Not the face! You leave me nothing to work with!" Hibiki shrieked.

"Yeah, that's all the idiot's got. Not much, but at least something to keep them coming back. Why? I question that myself." Gajeel's rough voice came next.

And Hibiki yelled an indignant, "Hey!" While Brandish made a sound of agreement.

"Do we really need to spy on them?" Said the only reasonable person from the group: Laxus. "I mean, it's fun when there's nothing better to do, but the game's still on babe!" Forget that last thought. They were all insane.

"Shut up! This is more important! Natsu just confessed to a girl! He's all grown up!" And the couple began to argue while Gajeel and Hibiki threw insults at each other and Yukino came rushing back with a bag for Brandish who took it and began to make barfing noises without really barfing. Because it's Brandish and she of course had to.

And the pair inside the bathroom stared at the door and then back at each other as they sweat dropped. Just as their eyes caught, they broke out laughing, the awkwardness from before completely disappearing. They were just Natsu and Lucy again. The soon to be parents. The idiots who slept together the night they first met. The bickering married couple that wasn't really married but you get the point.

"They're still in there?" Yukino then questioned and Brandish groaned loudly.

"God, they've been in there for ever. I swear, they're gonna come out saying it felt like only minutes. When they've been in there for like an hour! I can't with this!"

"You don't think… Oh God, those idiots better not be fucking!" Gajeel groaned in disgust.

Natsu's face reddened immediately and so did Lucy's.

"Why're you complaining? It'll be like free porn-" Hibiki started saying but shrieked loudly when Brandish muttered, "Where's my pepper spray? Wait, Mira don't you have a baseball bat?"

And Hibiki started begging for forgiveness while Brandish stromed off to find the bat.

Lucy bursted out laughing then and Natsu joined her, muttering that he was going to help Brandish kill Hibiki. And that only made the blonde laugh louder.

So, without another word on Natsu's confession, the two stepped out of the bathroom. Natsu yelled at them for spying, while he blushed madly at his friends' mocking words and Lucy ignored them all as she walked straight towards the kitchen for some much needed watermelon and tabasco sauce.

And she ate contently by the kitchen while Brandish screamed from the other side of the house that she'd found the bat and Hibiki screamed and ran for his life. Yeah, just another regular- an extremely normal- day at Mira's house.

It was a few hours later, while they all sat around the TV in Mira's living room, watching some gory movie Brandish had picked out- which no one seemed to want to watch at first but a beat upped Hibiki who wouldn't dare to piss her off again- that Lucy finally thought of Natsu's confession again.

Glancing at him sitting next to her on Mira's couch, she smiled faintly. It was crazy soon to think about love, but, as shockingly as it may sound, Lucy didn't think it was _that_ insane to start feeling those butterflies in her stomach. She actually didn't mind them as much anymore.

So, without overthinking it, Lucy laid her head on Natsu's shoulder. She was starting to feel more comfortable around him. And not just because he'd kissed her again. Don't think she'd forgotten about that! Her lips still tingled from that kiss and it was driving her insane!

Natsu stiffened as she curled up next to him, and she giggled softly, mumbling that she wasn't going to bite him. He only chuckled and tentatively, he dared himself to wrap around an arm around her. And when she didn't push him away, her rested his head over hers, relaxing next to her in their embrace.

Looking up at him, Lucy caught his deep green eyes and said, "If I fall asleep, don't let the pervert lay a finger on me." She was referring to Hibiki and even emphasized this by pointing at him.

Natsu broke out laughing, getting a death glare from Brandish which had him coughing and pretending to enjoy the horribly graphic movie.

He nodded, looking down at her he then whispered, "Believe me, Brandish will stop him before I even get to say a word."

The blonde rolled her eyes and pushed the smirking idiot away from her playfully before she again settled against him and closed her eyes, letting sleep finally take her.

She woke up when Natsu laid her down on the bed in Mira's guest room and started pulling the covers over her.

"Natsu…" She whispered, her voice cracking from just waking up.

He stopped what he was doing and looked at her, smiling sheepishly as he asked, "Sorry, did I wake you? I tried my best not to."

Her cheeks flushed and she shook her head. "No… It's not that…" Taking a deep breath, she then continued, "About tomorrow, pick me up at three, the appointment is at four and then… well, then you can take me on that date you offered. I've been craving spicy foods all week, if that gives you any ideas."

He grinned widely down at her and nodded, finishing tucking her in before he stared down at her flat stomach and gently placed his warm hand over it. It was too soon to feel the baby kick, but it was the first time he'd ever touched her, and he'd hoped maybe their baby would feel his warmth.

She blushed madly as he rubbed her stomach, whispering a soft goodnight to their baby before he caught her eyes.

He was still leaning over her, and Lucy bit her bottom lip and looked away just before he muttered, "Then it's a date."

She only nodded, still refusing to look at him, because she was blushing and because her heart was beating hard in her chest and she just wanted to curl under the covers and groan.

But she didn't, she only waited until he stepped away and whispered good night and left.

Then she covered her face with her cold hands and took a deep breath.

Yeah, she had just agreed to go on a date with Natsu Dragneel. And she was actually looking forward to it. A lot. So much so that she didn't sleep much that night.

It wasn't that she was excited about it! It's just that those stupid butterflies wouldn't settle down and go to sleep, that's all! Cue massive eye roll.

Yeah, she was definitely in denial.

One thing was for certain, she didn't think any of this was border line crazy anymore. No, there was a touch of crazy, a touch of insanity, a touch of destiny and a secret ingredient of- cue the drum roll- romance. Yeah, she just went there.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So… Like it, hated it, loved it? Leave a review and let me know! Your reviews and support are what keep me so excited to continue writing!**

 **I know this chapter wasn't very long and it didn't advance the plot in any drastic measure, but I needed to add this before going on with the date. I just couldn't write the date scene with Lucy being oblivious of Natsu's feelings. Kinda soon to be confessing but it's Natsu. And he didn't really specify what the hell he feels, he kinda just feels something. Not quite love but something lol. Next chapter we'll definitely get more on what's going on in Natsu's head!**

 **Also, I just have to apologize for such a delay on this chapter- and to top it off it's not as long as the others, ugh- but I've been super busy with life and school and well, the dreaded writer's block (Excuses, Excuses).**

 **But I'm back! And I'll definitely stray away from updating every other 5 months or so (Gosh, I kept you all waiting for forever!)**

 **On a total side note and complete randomness, I barely made a snapchat (yeah, totally late and all, but yeah). So if any of you want to add me its: aandyy121**

 **Always down to make new friends, so add if you want lol :))**

 **Another side note (lol) I've noticed that a lot of you have really liked the Brandish in this story, so, I started writing my own FictionPress story with a main character that is much like the Brandish here! I haven't updated it to FictionPRESS since I'm still not done with the first chapter but I'll keep you all posted on that if any of you are interested in reading that!**

 **Thanks for reading! And until next chapter!**

 **Chapter 5: The Crazy Date**

 **~ Blue ~**


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